Monitor

CBCP

MAY 2 - 15, 2016 VOL. 20 NO. 15

CBCPMONITOR@AREOPAGUSCOMMUNICATIONS.COM

PROTAGONIST OF TRUTH, PROMOTER OF PEACE

WHATS INSIDE
SUPPLEMENT ISSUE

UGNAYAN:

THE NEWS SUPPLEMENT

OF COUPLES FOR CHRIST

A3 True believers serve

others, pope says at

audience

A6 Quevedo warns voters

about promises of
change

B1 Prophets of truth,
Presidential bet Vice President Jejomar Binay shakes hands with fellow candidate Manuel Roxas after signing Radio Veritas Covenant for Truthful, Responsible, Upright, Transparent & Honest (TRUTH) Elections
after a Mass at the Manila Cathedral, May 2, 2016. Witnessed by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Commission on Elections chairman Andres Bautista, among others, the signing was also participated in by 17
senatorial candidates. CBCPNEWS

Cardinal Tagle:
Election is
blessing with
accountability
THE head of Manilas Roman
Catholic Church delivered a
powerful message on servant
leadership to the candidates for
national positions during a Mass at
the Manila Cathedral on Monday.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle said
the election of any candidate carries
with it a great deal of responsibility
more than victory.
In being candidates, you need
to know that it is a blessing that
comes with a responsibility. If you
win, it means you must represent
the peoples dreams and common
good, stressed the prelate.
You are blessed but you
have a great responsibility.
Blessings cannot come without
responsibilities. They go hand-inhand, he said.
The cardinal made the statement
in his homily during a Mass before
the candidates signing of a covenant
Truthful, Responsible, Upright,
Accountability / A6

CBCP vows to support

God-fearing govt
By Roy Lagarde

THE CATHOLIC hierarchy has vowed to support

whoever wins in the May
9 presidential elections
but on certain conditions.
Archbishop Socrates Villegas,
Catholic Bishops Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP) president, said
the next administration must come
from an honest electoral process
and whoever wins must take the
job seriously.
Whoever strives to heal the
wounds of the divisiveness of
politics, whoever respects the
rights of all and is earnest in his or
her fear of God and is zealous for
his precepts has the support of the
CBCP, said the prelate.

And we will do everything

together with our priests so that
all our people, to the remotest
barangays to which we minister,
may rally around a just and
God-fearing government that
visits no vengeance on foes but
is characterized by mercy and
compassion for all, not only for
allies! he said.
The statement was contained
in a pastoral appeal issued on
May 1, barely eight days before
election day the crossroads of
our journey as citizens of this land
and citizens of heaven.
Government of unity
Villegas reiterated that the CBCP
is not endorsing any candidate,
but they are willing to support the
next administration, which will
serve as an instrument of peace,
reconciliation, and healing.

The bishops lamented that

the campaign period has been
rancorous, inflicting wounds not
only on the candidates but even on
their supporters.
Villegas said the next administration
must lead a government of unity
that rests neither on expediency
nor compromise but on truth and
justice.
Call to voters, candidates
With a tight presidential race,
based on recent surveys, he warned
Catholic voters against candidates
who take not only politically
precarious positions but also
morally reprehensible ones.
One cannot proclaim Christ
as King and at the same time
accept the governance of one whose
thoughts, speech, and demeanor
are diametrically opposed to the
demands of submission to the

Lordship of Jesus Christ, said

Villegas.
The desire for change is
understandable. Our people have
suffered from incompetence and
indifference, he said. But this
cannot take the form of supporting
a candidate whose speech and
actions, whose plans and projects
show scant regard for the rights
of all, who has openly declared
indifference if not dislike and
disregard for the Church, specially
her moral teachings.
The bishops are asking Catholic
voters to cast their votes not only as
an act of citizenship but also as a
public declaration of faith.
The CBCP also called on
candidates to allow voters the
free and untrammelled right to
an informed choice, and not by
proffering them falsehoods, much
less defraud the nation.

Comelecs last minute changes

alarm PPCRV
ILLUSTRATION BY BROTHERS MATIAS

Youth back CBCPs rosary

campaign for polls

AS the country counts the

days before Filipinos head for
the polls, the faithful commit
to pray the rosary daily for
the special intention of the
elections, as encouraged
by the Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP).
I pray the rosary but only
the mystery of today. However
given the current situation of
the country, we could try
following the exhortation
of the [archbishop]. After
all, it was our Mother Mary
who always gave historical
breakthroughs for us like

servants of unity:
A pastoral appeal in
the spirit of our love
of God and country

in EDSA I, said youth

motivational speaker John
Bernard Caasi.
Attesting to the
effectiveness of the rosary,
youth leader Edwin Valles
considers it a singular grace
and privilege to pray the
rosary daily for the intention
of the May elections.
Before anything else
He said: By Gods grace,
I am able to be faithful to
this request praying all four
mysteries daily for some time
now Id be honored to do
Youth / A6

A POLL watchdog has some

qualms over the Commission
on Elections (Comelec)s
preparedness for the May 9
synchronized presidential,
senatorial, and local elections.
With only six days to go
before the elections, the
Parish Pastoral Council for
Responsible Voting (PPCRV)
is a bit worried over the many
major changes taken by the
Comelec in the election
process last month.
And 12 days before

elections, the Comelec

issued general instructions
so many changes for very
little time. That is a deadly
combination, said de Villa.
Ballot shortage?
Understandably, with
little time and unforeseen
changes, challenges do
present themselves, she
added.
Among the changes initiated
by the poll body include the
PPCRV / A6

Henrietta de Villa, head of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, inspects a
vote-counting machine during the unveiling of poll watchdog groups command center,
May 3 2016. R. LAGARDE/CBCPNEWS

Religious group hits Aquino inaction on El Nio

A RELIGIOUS group has questioned
the alleged inaction of the Aquino
government in addressing the El Nio
problem.
The Rural Missionaries of the
Philippines said thousands of farmers
are demanding relief from Mindanao,
Negros, and Cagayan Valley, as the
continuing drought worsens their
already impoverished state.
We are compelled to ask the president
whether he is capable of hearing the cry

of the poor and hungry farmers, said

RMP national coordinator Sr. Francis
Aover, RSM.
It is already ironic that those who
cultivate for the countrys food needs
still need to barricade a highway to get
attention for food aid, she said.
Thousands still protesting
RMP said the violent disperal of
protesting farmers in Kidapawan City
early this month did not cow the hungry

farmers into halting their mobilizations

demanding for relief.
If the farmers do not organize
themselves and act in unison, they and
their families would certainly die of
starvation. It is explicable that they are
waging with their safety, liberty, and
lives in holding protests that at least
they have a fighting chance to get food,
Aover added.
At the Kidapawan protest, some 6,000
Inaction / A6

A2 NEWS
t

Vatican Briefing

Pope blasts clericalism in Latin American Church

Pope Francis issued strong words to the Pontifical
Commission for Latin America, calling clericalism
one of the greatest distortions facing the local
Church.(W)ed do well to recall that the Church is
not an elite priests, of consecrated people, of bishops
but all of us make up the faithful and Holy People
of God, he said in an April 26 letter, recalling that
everyone starts out their life as laity, Vatican Radio
reported. His letter was addressed to Cardinal Marc
Ouellet, President of the Pontifical Commission for
Latin America as a follow-up to commissions recent
Plenary Assembly focused on the role of the laity.
The Holy Father said that clericalism seems to be the
result of a mistaken way of living out the ecclesiology
proposed by the Second Vatican Council, calling it,
one of the greatest distortions of the Church in Latin
America. (CNA)
Vatican: suspended audit not intended to block
curial reform
The Vatican clarified that the recent suspension of an
external audit of Vatican finances by Pricewaterhouse
Cooper is due to problems surrounding specific
clauses in their contract, and is not meant to hinder
the ongoing reform of the Curia.The suspension of
auditing activities is not due to considerations linked
to the integrity or quality of the work initiated by PwC,
let alone the intention of one or more entities of the
Holy See to block the reforms in progress, the Vatican
stated in an April 26 communiqu. It noted that issues
have emerged regarding the meaning and scope of
certain clauses of the contract and their methods of
implementation, and stressed that such elements will
undergo the necessary examination. (CNA)
Pope to teens: There isnt a phone app for love
and happiness
Freedom does not come from things we possess or
from doing whatever we want, Pope Francis said
Sunday, April 24 in his homily for the Jubilee for boys
and girls. Rather, true freedom and happiness can
only be found in the love of Jesus. Your happiness
has no price, the Pope said during Mass in St. Peters
Square. It cannot be bought: it is not an app that
you can download on your phones nor will the latest
update bring you freedom and grandeur in love.That
is because love is a free gift which calls for an open
heart, he said. It is a noble responsibility which is
life-long; it is a daily task for those who can achieve
great dreams! (CNA)
Pope urges teens to practice works of mercy
Pope Francis has challenged young people to commit
to practicing the corporal works of mercy in order
to recognize the face of Jesus in each other.As
you know, the works of mercy are simple gestures,
which belong to the life of every day, allowing you
to recognize the face of Jesus in many persons. Even
young people! the Pope said in a video message
to a youth rally at Romes Olympic Stadium.Even
young people like you, who hunger, who thirst; who
are refugees, or foreigners, or sick, and seeking our
help, our friendship.Saturdays rally was part of a
three-day Jubilee of Mercy event geared toward young
people. The event kicked off Saturday, April 23 with
a pilgrimage to the Holy Door at St. Peters Basilica.
Then priestsand even the Popeheard confessions
in St. Peters Square. (CNA)
Ethics must guide medical research, protect
human dignity, pope says
Moral and ethical concerns must guide medical
research so it will always be at the service of
protecting human life and dignity, Pope Francis said.
In that way, education and research can strive to
serve higher values, such as solidarity, generosity,
magnanimity, sharing of knowledge, respect for
human life, and fraternal and selfless love, he said
April 29, during an audience with people taking part
in a conference on adult stem cell research.Research,
whether in academia or industry, he said, requires
unwavering attention to moral issues if it is to be an
instrument which safeguards human life and the
dignity of the person. (CNS)
Suspects arrested in alleged plot against
Vatican, Israeli embassy
Italian authorities arrested six suspects who allegedly
received orders from the Islamic State terrorist group
to attack the Vatican and the Israeli embassy in Rome.
The arrests made in Lombardy and Piedmont April 28
were the result of a joint operation coordinated by the
district attorney of Milan and the Italian anti-terrorism
agency. According to the Italian news agency ANSA,
authorities arrested Abderrahim Moutaharrik and
his wife, Salma Bencharki; Abderrahmane Khachia,
and three people who have maintained contact with a
couple that left Italy to join the Islamic State in Syria.
All of the suspects are of Moroccan origin. A warrant
has been issued for the couple, Mohamed Korachi and
his Italian wife, Alice Brignoli, who are believed to have
left for Syria in 2015. (CNS)
Holy Spirit works through listening to one
another, pope says
A person who is afraid of listening to others when
confronting a new situation does not have the Spirit in
their heart, Pope Francis said. Only through listening
to others with humility can the Holy Spirit work and
the Communion of the Church be expressed, he said
today during the Mass in the chapel of the Domus
Sanctae Marthae. Even today there is resistance that
continues in one form or another and the Spirit goes
forward, he said. This path of the Church: to meet,
to meet together, to listen to one another, to argue, to
pray and decide. (CNS)

May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

CBCP Monitor

At UN, calls for global response

to Christian genocide
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.,
April 28, 2016The plight of
Christians and other Middle
East minorities demands
action from the international
community, one leader in
relief efforts said in a panel
at the United Nations.
We have a unique
opportunity to change things
for the better, said Carl
Anderson, head of the Knights
of Columbus. Never before
has the worlds attention
been so focused on the
suffering of these minorities.
Never has their plight been
so high on the agenda of the
worlds governments, the
vast majority of the worlds
Muslims, and all people of
good will.
He said the Middle East
crisis is the worlds greatest
humanitarian crisis since
World War II.
He cited hundreds of
thousands of deaths in Syria
and Iraq, the displacement
or extermination of entire
communities, and the strain
of millions of refugees from
war and terrorism.
We face the very real
prospect of the extinction of
many of the communities
indigenous to the region,
Anderson said at a Thursday
panel at the United Nations
Economic and Social Council
Chamber.
The panel was sponsored
by the Holy Sees permanent
observer mission to the U.N.
The event was part of the
#WeAreN2016 congress,
being held at various New
York City venues from April
28-30. The congress name
derives from the Arabic letter
nun that was painted on the
homes of Christians targeted
for persecution by Islamic
State group sympathizers.
Some supporters of these
Christians have adopted the
symbol as a sign of solidarity.
The Knights of Columbus
is a Catholic fraternal
organization with over 1.8
million members worldwide.
The organization has raised
more than $10.5 million
for relief for Christians and
other displaced persons
and refugees in Iraq, Syria,
Jordan and Lebanon.

Pope Francis speaks to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City about caring for the environment and the human
person on September 25, 2015 during the Holy Father's apostolic journey to the United States. CNA

It has also advocated official

U.S. government recognition
of violence against Christians
and other minorities as
genocide. Anderson said the
Knights 300-page report
documented atrocities and
made the legal arguments in
favor of such recognition.
ISIS and the victims we
interviewed agree on one
thing. Many of those targeted
were targeted because of
their Christian faith, he said.
He cited a fact-finding
mission that found
evidence of widespread
rape, kidnappings, forced
conversions, slavery, murder
and forced expulsion.
Many of the incidents had
not been previously reported.
But based on what we learned,
it is our impression that what
we know today is likely to be
only the tip of the iceberg,
Anderson said. A concerted,
sustained effort now needs to
be undertaken to document
the extent of this tragedy.
He said those interviewed
showed great heroism.
These included people like
Kahlia, a woman in her fifties.
She was held hostage with 47
other people in Iraq. During
her 15-day captivity, she
resisted demands to convert
to Islam even at gunpoint or
when a sword was held to her
neck. She physically resisted
Islamic State group militants
who tried to rape hostage
girls or take them as brides.

Although 14 men in the

group were coerced into
saying they would convert
to Islam, Kahlia did not. She
told her captors that since
Jesus died for her, she could
die for him, Anderson said.
She was not killed, but left
in the desert to walk to Erbil.
Her resistance saved many
people, refugees reported.
We know that ISIS has killed
thousands of Christians in Iraq,
Syria, and Libya, Anderson
continued. Mass graves have
been reported in Syria, and
the desert between Mosul and
Erbil was littered with bodies as
Christians there fled too quickly
to bury neighbors and family
members.
He said Christians in Iraq
numbered 1.5 million in early
2000s, and now are as few
as 200,000 due to war and
immigration. The Christian
population in Syria has fallen
from 1.5 million to 500,000.
Indigenous Christian
communities are vulnerable
and fragile and at risk of
disappearing entirely.
The world stands at a
crossroads. The rich tapestry
of religious pluralism in the
region must be preserved
now or it will be lost
forever, Anderson said.
If Christianity disappears
in this region, so does the
opportunity for pluralism
there; and the likelihood
of majoritarian theocracy,
or something worse, is

increased. The threats from

such an outcome to peace,
stability and security in
the region and beyond are
substantial.
He recommended four
forms of action for the United
Nations.
These include Security
Council referral of
perpetrators of genocide to
the International Criminal
Court; provision for locating
and providing relief for
Yazidis, Christians and
other minorities targeted
for genocide; advocacy
for full rights for religious
minorities; and preparation
for the liberation of Islamic
State group-controlled
territory and restoration of
the property of attempted
genocide victims.
He noted that many refugees
fear going into official U.N.
refugee camps. They are
overlooked and face difficulty
in acquiring official refugee
status or in emigrating.
If displaced persons want
to return home, they should
be supportedlegally and
actuallyin that choice,
Anderson said. For those
who have suffered too much
to return to their homes
refugees who have decided
to remain in the places to
which they fled, they should
be allowed to do so. The
support of the international
community will be critical on
both counts. (CNA)

Indian bishop tells of being kidnapped and assaulted

NEW DELHI, April 29, 2016A
Catholic bishop in southern India was
kidnapped and assaulted by unknown
attackers demanding money.
Bishop Prasad Gallela of Cuddapah
in Andhra Pradesh state was blindfolded, handcuffed and forcibly taken
away while he was travelling home
after celebrating Mass at Karunagiri
Shrine April 25.
The 54-year-old said that
unidentified kidnappers came in
two vehicles and took me to an
undisclosed location.
They hit me and punched me
resulting in injuries all over my body.
I did not resist, Bishop Gallela told
ucanews.com.
Police are trying to find those

behind the incident, Bishop Gallela

said.
The bishop said that the kidnappers
kept on asking him about the financial
transactions of the diocese.
The kidnappers also demanded 5
million rupees (US$75,325) and said
that since I help so many people, I
should help them too, the bishop
recounted.
When I asked who they were, they
said they are from the police but police
does not behave like this, he said.
The prelate said that early the next
day the kidnappers let him go and
left him 90 kilometers away from his
diocese is based.
They appeared to be paid goons
and non-Christians from the way

they talked and behaved, said Bishop

Gallela.
Archbishop ThummaBala of
Hyderabad has condemned the
incident.
It is unbelievable that such a
violent atrocity is perpetrated on a
high ranking religious leader of a
minority community, who is totally
dedicated to the service of the needy
and marginalized, the archbishop
said in a statement.
Archbishop Bala appealed to law
enforcement authorities to investigate
the case thoroughly and bring to book
the culprits.
Cuddapah, which has some 114,800
Catholics, is a suffragan diocese of
Hyderabad Archdiocese. (UCAN)

Mainland China has 112 bishops, 99 in active ministry

HONG KONG, April 28,
2016The latest statistics
of the Catholic Church in
China compiled by Hong
Kong Dioceses Holy Spirit
Study Centre shows the
number of open bishops
or those recognized by
the government is more
than double that of those
from the unrecognized or
underground community.
The 2016 Spring issue of
Tripod, the centers quarterly
journal, has released a series
of statistics on the Catholic
Church in China for 2015.
According to Tripod, there
are 112 bishops in mainland
China. Among them, 99 are
in ministry while 13 are not.
Not in ministry means
the bishop has retired or was

forced to retire, Anthony

Lam Sui-ki, executive editor
of Tripod, told ucanews.com.
The 2015 figure showed
that there are 70 bishops for
the open church community,
11 more than in 2014. For the
underground community,
there are 29, a drop of 13
compared to 2014.
According to reports, only
Coadjutor Bishop Joseph Zhang
Yinlin of Anyang was ordained
andBishop Martin Wu Qinjing
of Zhouzhi was installed in the
open church in 2015.
Some of the other nine
bishops newly counted as
open bishops previously
belong to the underground
church, Lam explained.
Some bishops no longer
think they are underground,

so we count them as belonging

to the open community, he
said. However, he refused to
disclose who they were.
An underground bishop
getting government
recognition means they have
agreed to be managed by the
government.
Declining vocations
Lam pointed out that
religious vocation in the
church in China is declining
as shown from the number of
priests, nuns and seminarians.
According to 2015 figures,
there are 2,500 priests and
3,170 nuns in the open
church, a decline of 100
priests and 80 nuns on 2014.
As for the underground
church, there are 1,300

priests and 1,400 nuns, a

decrease of 100 and 130
respectively.
The open church has nine
seminaries across China.
The number of seminarians
dropped from 560 to 425. The
underground church presently
has ten seminaries with
the number of seminarians
declining from 300 to 200
between 2014 and 2015.
However, there is a
significant change in minor
seminaries in the open church
with a sudden increase of 11
to 20 within the past year.
The number of minor
seminaries is always
controversial. People may
argue with the nature of some
of these seminaries, said
Lam. (UCAN)

CBCP Monitor

Could reconciliation with

the SSPX arrive with ease?
VATICAN, April 26, 2016
Pope Francis may soon offer
the Society of Saint Pius
X regular canonical status
within the Church, without
requiring the acceptance of
certain texts of the Second
Vatican Council with which
they disagree.
It also appears the SSPX
may itself be poised to
take such a historic step,
urging that perhaps
only Pope Francis is able
to take this step, given
his unpredictability and
improvisation, according to
an internal SSPX document
that was leaked to the press
in recent weeks.The memo,
titled Considerations on
the Church and the position
of the Society of Saint Pius
X in it, outlines six reasons
why the group should accept
an offer of regularization
by Pope Francis, provided
an appropriate ecclesial
structure is ensured. It also
addresses possible objections
raised against such a move.
It seems the time to
normalize the situation of
the Society has come, the
memo reads.
The document, dated Feb.
19, was written by Fr. Franz
Schmidberger, rector of the
SSPXs seminary in Germany.
Fr. Schmidberger had served
as superior general of the
SSPX from 1982 to 1994.In
the memo, Fr. Schmidberger
asserts that the Vatican has
been gradually lowering
its demands and recent
proposals, no longer speak
of recognizing neither the
Second Vatican Council nor
the legitimacy of the Novus
Ordo Missae.
On April 10, Bishop
Bernard Fellay, the current
superior general of the SSPX,
said before some 4,000
pilgrims in the French city
of Le Puy-en-Velay that there
is a profound change in
the Societys relationship
with the Vatican, triggered
by the dire situation of
the Church: in the midst of
this disorder comes this
whisper: No, we cannot force
you to accept the Council.
They perhaps will not say
it so clearly, but they did
indeed say it to us after all.
Albeit carefully, these
assertions are to some
extent matched by similar
utterances from Rome.
Archbishop Guido Pozzo,
secretary for the Pontifical
Commission Ecclesia Dei
the Vatican office of the
responsible for doctrinal
discussions with the SSPX
said in an April 6 interview
with La Croix that as far as
the Second Vatican Council
is concerned, the ground
covered in the meetings
over the past few years
has led to an important
clarification: Vatican II can
be adequately understood
only in the context of the full
Tradition of the Church and
her constant Magisterium.
Certain questions can
remain subject to discussion
and clarification,
Archbishop Pozzo added.
Similarly,
Fr.
Schmidbergers memo
asserts that whilst the group
would like to retur n from its
exile, further discussions
would be expected: We will
not be silent, more over, we
will point out the errors by
name. Before and after our
normalization.
Reliable sources inside
the SSPX have confirmed to
CNA that the leaked memo
from Fr. Schmidberger,
which apparently was meant
for circulation among the
leadership of the Society,
is indeed authentic.
Comprising seven sections
and running to three
pages, it concisely covers a
summary of the history of
the relationship with Rome
and an outline of arguments
for a full reconciliation, to
the practical considerations

NEWS A3

May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

SSPX Bishop Richard Williamson. FSSPX.

ORG

of such a move. It even

includes a kind of FAQsection, answering the most
frequently raised concerns of
a reconciliation with Rome
from the perspective of those
in the SSPX more hesitant
about reconciliation with
Rome.
Fr. Schmidberger cited
several reasons that the
time to regularize the
canonical situation of the
SSPX has some, including
that fact that any abnormal
situation lends itself to
normalization. He noted
the danger in losing the
realization that the Societys
situation is abnormal, and
seeing it instead as normal:
if the priests of the Society
feel comfortable in this
situation of liberty with
respect to dependence on
the heirarchy, then this
implies a gradual loss of
the sensus ecclesiae.The
memo also noted that
there are members of the
Churchs hierarchy who are
sympathetic to them, but
that they can only collaborate
after regularization, and that
the SSPX will need new
bishops in the future and
that licit consecration should
be pursued.
In its conclusion, the text
argues that if God wants
to come to the effective aid
of His Church, which is
bleeding from a thousand
wounds, he has thousands
of different means of
doing so. One of these is
the official recognition
of the SSPX through the
Roman authorities. It then
closes with a prayer for the
intercession of the Virgin
Mary.
It has been speculated
that the normalization of the
SSPX would be accomplished
by recognizing the group as
a personal prelature, a
canonical structure which
so far has only been used for
Opus Dei.
The SSPX was founded
by Archbishop Marcel
Lefebvre in 1970 to form
priests, as a response to
what he described as errors
that had crept into the
Church following the Second
Vatican Council. Its relations
with the Holy See became
particularly strained in 1988
when Archbishop Lefebvre
and Bishop Antonio de
Castro Mayer consecrated
four bishops without the
permission of Pope John
Paul II.
The illicit consecration
resulted
in
the
excommunication of
the six bishops; the
excommunications of the
surviving bishops were
lifted in 2009 by Benedict
XVI, and since then,
negotiations to rediscover
full communion with the
Church have continued
between the Society and the
Vatican.
In remitting the
excommunications, Benedict
also noted that doctrinal
questions obviously remain
and until they are clarified
the Society has no canonical
status in the Church and its
ministers cannot legitimately
exercise any ministry.
(Christoph Wimmer/
CNA/EWTN News)

True believers serve others,

pope says at audience
VATICAN, April 27, 2016
To ignore the suffering of
another person is to ignore
God, Pope Francis said.
And going to church
does not automatically
make someone love their
neighbor, the pope said April
27 as he reflected on the
Gospel parable of the good
Samaritan during his weekly
general audience.
Christians are called to
imitate the good Samaritan,
stopping to help the injured,
because the good Samaritan
is a symbol of Jesus, who
bent down to help and to
heal all humanwity, the pope
said.
By describing the priest
and the Levite who passed
by without offering help,
Pope Francis said, the
parable makes it clear that
it is not automatic that one
who frequents the house
of God and has known his
mercy knows how to love his
neighbor.
You can know the whole

Bible, you can know all the

liturgical rubrics, you can
know all theology, but that
knowledge does not make
loving automatic, he said.
Love has another path.
Pope Francis insisted
there is no such thing as
true worship if it does not
translate into service to ones
neighbor. Let us never forget:
in the face of the suffering
of so many people worn
out by hunger, violence and
injustice, we cannot remain

spectators
To ignore human
sufferingwhat does that
mean? It means ignoring
God, he told an estimated
25,000 people in St. Peters
Square. If I do not draw
near to the man or woman or
child or older person who is
suffering, I cannot draw near
to God.
While the priest and the
Levitethe two orthodox
religious figures in the story
have closed, cold hearts,

the pope said, the Samaritan,

who was considered an
impure pagan, had a heart
that was synchronized with
the heart of God.
The sign that one is close to
God, the pope said, is showing
compassion to others like
God shows compassion to
us. What does that mean?
He suffers with us. He feels
our suffering.
Like the good Samaritan,
he said, God does not ignore
us. He knows our pain. He
knows how much we need
his help and consolation. He
draws near to us and never
abandons us.
Pope Francis asked those
at the audience to consider
whether they believe that God
has compassion for them, as
they arewith their sins and
their woundsand that he
draws near to us, heals us,
caresses us. And if we refuse
him, he waits. He is patient
and always alongside of us.
(Cindy Wooden/Catholic
News Service)

Priest calls St. Joseph innovative model of manliness

MOLO, Iloilo City, April 28, 2016
As one of the important themes
highlighted by Pope Francis in his latest
apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia
(The Joy of Love), to complement the
positive achievements of feminism, is
the importance of promoting a healthy
virility, a Bible scholar sees in St.
Joseph an exact model of gentle and
fatherly manliness.
A closer reading of the Gospels
reveals that St. Joseph was a strong
protector and a responsible provider
as can be observed in the way he took
care of the Child Jesus and Holy
Mary, said Fr. Rey Zerrudo in an
interview with CBCP News.
The professor of Biblical Studies
in St. Joseph Regional Seminary
and parish priest of San Jose
Obrero Parish in Molo, Iloilo City,
underscored that the threats the
Holy Family had to face in their
time are analogous to the challenges
families have to confront in modern
times.
A firm protector
St. Joseph was a man who could

make firm decisions as he had to

protect the Child Jesus and Holy
Mary from the attacks of King
Herods men. Afterwards, on their
return to Israel from Egypt, he
took the initiative of settling in
another town, in Nazareth instead
of Bethlehem, upon learning
that Archelaus, who was twice as
cruel as Herod, was reigning [in]
Judea.
God sets the father in the family
so that by the gifts of his masculinity
he can be close to his wife and share
everything, joy and sorrow, hope
and hardship, says Pope Francis in
Amoris Laetitia.
Recalling his encounter with
families in Manila, the Pope said,
The family is also threatened by
growing efforts on the part of some
to redefine the very institution of
marriage, by a lack of openness to
life.
Pope Francis was referring to
the threat that actually destroys
families: the source of this
destruction he called ideological
colonization.

A good provider
In another episode in the Gospels,
the finding of the Child Jesus in the
temple, the priest saw in St. Joseph
a conscientious worker and a good
provider.
St. Joseph was able to provide well
for his family. For a craftsman to have
time to go every year from Nazareth to
Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover
meant that he worked hard and saved
for his family to the extent that, as
a father, he could be with them to
celebrate occasions that are important
for their faith and the family.
In our day, the problem no
longer seems to be the overbearing
presence of the father so much as
his absence, his not being there.
Fathers are often so caught up in
themselves and their work, and at
times in their own self-fulfillment,
that they neglect their families,
the pontiff himself noted in his
latest apostolic exhortation.
For St. Joseph to be regarded
as a model of fathers could not be
emphasized more. (Fr. Mickey
Cardenas / CBCP News)

Suspended audit reveals power struggle at the Vatican

VATICAN, April 25, 2016
The recent suspension of an
audit of Vatican finances by
a major accounting firm shed
light on a lively debate within
the Sacred Walls about the
balance of power between the
Secretariat of State and the
Secretariat for the Economy.
The debate is, in fact, a
result of the Curia reform
begun by Pope Francis.
The international auditing
firm Pricewaterhouse Cooper
(PwC) was hired Dec. 5 by the
Secretariat for the Economy
to audit the Vaticans 120
financial departments
books and check if they
had been filed according to
international accountability
standards.
The auditing was suspended
April 12 by the Secretariat
of State, with two letters
by Cardinal Pietro Parolin,
Secretary of State, and by his
deputy, Archbishop Giovanni
Angelo Becciu. The letters
reportedly claimed that
proper procedures had not
been correctly applied.
No official statement from
the Holy See Press Office
confirmed or dismissed the
presence of the letters, or the
suspension.
A spokesperson of the
Secretariat for the Economy,
however, stressed Apr.
21 that Cardinal Pell, the
prefect, was bit surprised
at the Archbishops letter,
but anticipates that, after
discussion and clarification
on some issues, the work of
PwC will resume shortly.

The
Cardinals
spokesperson also
underscored that the work
of the internal auditor, which
covers all the areas, has not
been interrupted.
The same day, Archbishop
Becciu said in a TV interview
that the PwC contract was
suspended, not rescinded,
and emphasized that the
contract was not signed by
the body in charge of it; that
is according to him the
Council of Cardinals.
However, the Council
of Cardinals is charged
with advising the Pope
about issues on Church
government and Curia
reform: it is not an official
body with the capacity for
signing contracts.
The Secretariat for the
Economy then delivered a
release April 22 in which
it clarified that the PwC
contract is with the Council
for the Economy which, as
is clear in its Statutes, is
the competent body for the
appointment of external
auditors.
The Secretariat for the
Economy also stressed that
the Council is the competent
body not the Secretariat
of State, and certainly not
the C9, which is an advisory
body for the Holy Father and
operates without any formal
role in the governance of the
Holy See, and pointed out
that the PwC contract was
signed by the Chair of the
Councils Audit Committee
and co-signed by the Prefect

of the Secretariat for the

Economy, following a
unanimous resolution of the
Council to appoint PwC and
a direction to proceed.
All of this cut and thrust
revealed an on-going
discussion within the Vatican
Walls about the competences
of the new dicasteries.
On one side, the Secretariat
of State is working to maintain
its central position among
the Curia dicasteries. Its
position has been threatened
by the Secretariat for the
Economy, created in 2014 to
have financial oversight over
all Vatican City and Holy See
institutions.
Yet in the course of Francis
pontificate, the Secretariat
of State has step by step
regained importance.
In a letter to Cardinal
Parolin dated Oct. 14, 2015,
Pope Francis underscored
that the status quo of
the Curia offices had to be
respected until the reforms
were completed, which
means the Secretariat of
State is still the central body
of the Curia.
As the Secretariat of State
gained importance, the
Secretariat for the Economy
lost some of its impact. The
work of the Secretariat for the
Economy was at first slowed
down by the drafting of its
statutes, and afterwards by
resistance from elsewhere in
the Curia.
However, it is simplistic
to read the facts as the
struggle between an opaque

Italian bureaucracy and a

transparent Anglo-Saxon
style, as some Englishlanguage media have
suggested.
The path to Vatican
financial transparency and
accountability has always
found resistance, and
Cardinal Pells Secretariat has
simply become the perfect
target for acts of resistance.
Who is it that doesnt
want the procedures carried
forward? This is the recurrent
question in Vatican financial
bodies. According to a source
familiar with Vatican finances
this kind of resistance comes
out at the mid-ranks, while
the top ranks exploit the
resistance to reinforce their
position.
So, some internal
resistance fell in the dialectic
between the Secretariat for
State and the Secretariat
for the Economy. The fact
that both of those are called
Secretariat is important, as
they are formally put on par
with one another.
The presence of the
Secretariat for the Economy
might diminish the impact of
the Secretariat of State, and a
balance of power has yet to be
achieved.
This discussion is the first
notable rebound of Pope
Francis Curia reform. If the
discussion is not resolved,
there well may be other
rebounds, further affecting
the progress of reform.
(Andrea Gagliarducci/
CNA/EWTN News)

A4 OPINION

May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

CBCP Monitor

EDITORIAL
THAT a horde of millions of Filipinos, including those abroad,
will loudly lend their support to a presidential candidate who
promises change and strong political will despite vulgarity,
loose character and a track record of human rights violations,
not to mention a platform of reform that overtly promises
the use of death squads to curb criminality, is big proof that
people are tired of the status quo.
People seemingly want change, not continuity. Which may
also be the reason why, the administrations candidate is
trailing most notably in earlier social surveys. Disputably
though, the change that people were hoping for after martial
law did not make any substantial difference. Productivity and
self-sufficiency in staple food, for instance, grew even less and
less so that post-martial law administrations, especially the
incumbent, had to import an average of over a million or so
metric tons of rice annually because local production is not at
par with local demands. Rice cartel and large scale corruption
have made low local productivity as a convenient alibi.
Graft and corruption during martial law was a monopoly
of the tyrant and his cronies. In the governments that
followed, corruption has become as widespread as the whole
government networkbut especially of the political party in
power. In June 2010, when President Benigno Simeon Aquino
III rose to power, people apparently invested on him their
last straw of hope that he would be the change that they were
clamoring for. People were ecstatic at his inaugural when he
confidently declared: Walang lamangan, walang padrino, at
walang pagnanakaw. Walang wang-wang, walang counterflow, walang tong, vowing to put an end to corruption,
patronage, petty extortion and the use of sirens and traffic
counter-flow. His entry into Malacaang was touted by a
media network as the dawn of a new day.
But that did not last long. In August 2010 when he and his men
pitifully mismanaged a hostage-taking at the Quirino Grandstand,
the cracks of the matuwid na daan started showing. Quickly his
administration was likened to running the country like a student
government by then Senator Joker Arroyo. But the amateurish
mismanagement would prove fatal in Super Typhoon Yolanda,
the Zamboanga siege and the infamous SAF 44 in Mamasapano,
not to mention other lapses that squandered lives and peoples
taxes. The peak of large scale corruption would be seen at the
Disbursement Acceleration Program totaling to P149.25 billion by
the time it was outlawed by the Supreme Court. This gargantuan
amount together with the Priority Development Assistance Fund
(PDAF) that bowed out as the biggest national scam of all time
were reportedly used to buy out both the legislatures and the
judiciarys constitutional independence. The governments most
trumpeted economic success would be dumped a farce in the
face of heavy unemployment or what independent observers call
jobless growth.
Peoples clamor for change is understandable enough.
To insist on the continuity of tuwid na daan would be
futile. But to assign that change to a presidential candidate
whose very life and methods are in need of change would be
indiscriminate if not fanatical.

Pastoral action to transform politics

HOW do we go about changing the way politics is done in
the Philippines so that, instead of being a stumbling block, it
positively contributes to integral development, including the
spiritual growth, of our people? How renew politics so that it
becomes a channel for our peoples well being and growth in
the life of grace?
The most basic work that has to be done is catechesis on
politics or Christian education in politics. At present there
is a tragic dichotomy between our faith-life as a people and
our political culture. This dichotomy prevents our faith from
having a say in our political activities. As a result our political
culture is characterized by deception, dishonesty, fraud,
violence, corruption, pay-offs, and patronage. Yet most of the
participants in the political process call themselves Christians.
But catechesis on politics cannot have any lasting effect if done
only on the occasion of elections. It should be done as part and
parcel of regular catechesisin season, out of season.
We have seen how many voters are influenced in choosing certain
candidates not out of conscience but because of family relationships.
We also know that the popularity of a candidate or the prospects of
political and economic rewards, money and giftand a wrong sense
of utang na loobare strong factors in peoples voting behavior.
Competence, honesty, personal integrity and an acceptable program
of government are not primary considerations.
There is at present no program through which persons of
integrity and political knowledge can be prepared to participate
in the noble but difficult art of politics. The Federation of Asian
Bishops Conferences has more than once called for such a
preparation in the light of the Asian political situation. Such
an agenda is especially imperative in the Philippine situation.
Possible political leaders should be schooled in the principles
and practice of doing politics in a Christian way, in accord
with the Gospels, the values of the Kingdom of God, the moral
teachings of the Church, especially its social teachings. An
implication of PCP-IIs stand urging persons in responsible
positions to promote actively the election of worthy candidates
is the necessity of preparing these candidates for public office. If
economic managers are schooled in their field, political leaders
should also be formed so that they may discharge the burdens
of public office with competence and integrity.
--Lifted from CBCPs Pastoral Exhortation on
Philippine Politics, 1997

Monitor
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ILLUSTRATION BY BLADIMER USI

Change not continuity

And Thats The Truth

Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS

FOUR days before election

day, the air is thick with
apprehension. Is the
Comelec ready to cope with
the Big Day, with all these
blackouts and brownouts
here and there? How can they
guarantee therell be no more
cyber-hacking? If Comelec
computers can be hacked, how
can we be sure election results
wont be tampered with?
Will it be a safe and peaceful
election? Will there be no
cheating, no vote-buying, no
poll-related violence, really?
Will my candidates make it,
or will they be cheated out of
a rightful victory? There will

be cheating for sureand

candidates to high offices are
ready with countermeasures
because the candidate a
superpower wants as our
next president must become
our next president.
The high level of anxiety
seems to be caused by the
way various media are giving
prominence to survey results.
SWS, Pulse Asia, and other
survey results by themselves
cant affect peoples views
but when disclosed they
become media meat, and when
social media join the foray, the
significance of the figures
gets blown out of proportion.

The electoral
hodgepodge
Worse is when people depend
on survey results in deciding
whom to vote for. We must
bear in mind that surveys
reveal the sentiment of merely
1,800 respondents out of
the countrys 54.4 registered
voters. Despite the claims
of those who conduct them,
surveys are not impervious to
human error or evil.
But lets not blame SWS,
Pulse Asia, or the media when
the final survey results
revealed on election day are
not to our liking. We must be
prepared for that by putting
our intelligence and our faith
in the service of our vote.

The CBCP Pastoral Letter

Prophets of Truth, Servants
of Unity hit the nail on the
head when it said, the
Catholic Church has always
demanded of Catholic voters
that they cast their votes as an
act not only of citizenship but
also as a public declaration
of faith. We ask this most
earnestly of all of you, Catholic
brothers and sisters, in the
forthcoming election.
Unlike the INC whose flock
merely follows the choice of
their leadership, the Catholic
Church trusts its members
and gives them the freedom
And Thats the Truth / A6

On expressing opinions Candidly Speaking

Fr. Roy Cimagala

I SUPPOSE its basic and

commonsensical that when we express
our opinions and engage among
ourselves in some exchanges of our
personal views, ideas, and preferences,
we always need to be courteous first of
all and then always to be constructive
and positive in our tact.
Upholding unity and living the
requirements of charity rank far higher
than simply wanting to be right or to
score a point in any given contention. We
should never forget this principle.
Especially in the area of politics, where
opinions vary due to the immense variety
of peoples preferences, we should see to
it that the tone of our discourse is kept
calm and respectful. Given the volatile
character of politics, we should learn how
to hold our horses, so as not to be carried
away by our unbridled and intemperate
passions and biases.

In the first place, we cannot be too

strong or too sure about our political
opinions because no matter how right we
feel we are, we certainly do not have the
exclusive right to possess all the truth.
Everyone always has something valid to
say, no matter how small.
And in the second place, there simply
are just too many unknown factors
that are at play. We cannot account for
everything no matter how smart and
diligent we are in building up our position.
And in the third place, we simply have
to learn to live with imperfect persons
and candidates, as well as imperfect
systems and structures. We cannot be
too simplistic as to paint our favored
candidate as entirely saintly, completely
incapable of committing a mistake and
our undesired candidate is entirely
devious, completely incapable to doing
anything good.

Living Mission

Fr. James H. Kroeger, MM

The least thing that we can do is not

to be too attached to our ideas and our
preferences. While its true that we
somehow shape our destiny, that task
is always a joint effort among ourselves
and ultimately between God and us.
Never ignore the indications of divine
providence, the promptings of the Holy
Spirit who is the Lord of history.
That is why, we can never have a
political discourse that is fit for human
beings, let alone, children of God, if it is
not preceded, accompanied, and followed
up by prayer and sacrifice, together with
due study and consultations.
Without these fundamental
requirements we end up attacking
each other like cats and dogs. And
thats whats happening these days. In
the heat of the political polemics, we
are witnessing a lot of shooting from
Candidly Speaking / A7

Saints Speak
on the Eucharist

Year of Eucharist and Family Reflection

SAINT Peter Julian
Eymard (1811-1868),
known as the Apostle of
the Eucharist, is the
founder of the Blessed
Sacrament Fathers (SSS)
who promote devotion to
the Blessed Sacrament; they
are dedicated to perpetual
adoration.
Father Eymard advocated
frequent reception of Holy
Communion at a time when
this was a rare practice.
He asserts: In one day
the Eucharist will make
you produce more for the
glory of God than a whole
lifetime without it. To be
possessed by Jesus and to
possess Himthat is the
perfect reign of Love. Until
we have a passionate love
for our Lord in the Most
Blessed Sacrament we shall
accomplish nothing.
The Eucharist is the link
that binds the Christian
family together; take away
the Eucharist and you have no

brotherliness left. Corpus

Christi is the most lovable
of feast days. Let this feast
therefore be one of joy, and
let us expect from it the most
abundant blessings.
Saint Therese of the
Child Jesus (1873-1897),
commonly known as the
Little Flower, wrote in her
autobiography (The Story
of a Soul): How I loved the
feasts! I especially loved
the processions in honor of
the Blessed Sacrament. What
a joy it was for me to throw
flowers beneath the feet of
God! I was never so happy
as when I saw my roses touch
the sacred Monstrance.
By our little acts of charity
practiced in the shade we
convert souls far away, we
help missionaries, we win
for them abundant alms,
and by that means build
actual dwellings spiritual and
material for our Eucharistic
Lord.
Heaven for me is hidden

in a little Host where Jesus,

my Spouse, is veiled for love.
I go to that Divine Furnace to
draw out life, and there my
Sweet Savior listens to me
night and day. Holiness is
a disposition of the heart that
makes us humble and little in
the arms of God.
Saint Thomas Aquinas
(1225-1274), a Dominican
priest and Doctor of
the Church, wrote much
profound theology; he also
wrote beautiful hymns of
Eucharistic Adoration. His
well-known hymns are: Panis
Angelicus (Bread of Angels),
Adore te Devote (Humbly
I Adore Thee), O Salutaris
Hostia (O Saving Victim),
Pange Lingua Gloriosi (Tell,
my Tongue, the Mystery),
and Tantum Ergo (Down in
Adoration Falling).
Thomas eloquently
explained many dimensions
of the Eucharist. Material
food first changes into the
one who eats it, and then, as a

consequence, restores to him

lost strength and increases
his vitality. Spiritual food, on
the other hand, changes the
person who eats it into itself.
Thus, the effect proper
to this Sacrament is the
conversion of the person
into Christ, so that he may no
longer live, but Christ lives in
him. Consequently, it has the
double effect of restoring the
spiritual strength he had lost
by his sins and defects, and
of increasing the strength of
his virtues.
Regarding Christs
presence in the Eucharist,
Thomas wrote: It is
absolutely necessary to
confess according to Catholic
faith that the entire Christ is
in this sacrament.
Profound Wisdom.
Indeed, the above short
quotes from three wellknown saints reflect great
insight into the beauties
of the Eucharistic faith of
Catholics!

CBCP Monitor

By the Roadside
Fr. Eutiquio Euly Belizar, Jr. SThD

THE efforts of the Church in

the Philippines, particularly
through the CBCP, to be a
principle of unity (read: in nonpartisan political engagement,
if I may use the phrase) and,
at the same time, to provide
moral-spiritual guidelines
to the Filipino faithful in the
face of the upcoming May 9,
2016 polls remind me of the
Parable of the Sower. The
Church sows the seeds (i.e.,
the Word as applied to the
present circumstances). But
there are so many kinds of
soil, majority of which does
not seem friendly (as in the
parable). The only difference
is that it is so difficult to tell
if even the good soil would
outperform the unfriendly
ones, so as to bear fruit a
hundredfold in the election
of what may be perceived
by believers as the fitting

OPINION A5

May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

choices among national and

local candidates.
While in the previous
elections violence was more
pronounced in the actual
and attempted political
assassinations carried out
between rival political
groupings, now violence
is extended to the verbal
discourse in the mass and
social media, to the debates
and campaign sloganeering,
to the pre-election survey
results analyses and
exposs. Information is so
hard to distinguish from
disinformation, truth
from fabrication, anticriminality politicking from
criminal bullying, whether
in cyberspace or in the
marketplace.
The Church stands in the
middle of it all. She is doing
what she can to maintain

Elections as
trials of faith
the balance between faith
and reason, between the
principles of democracy and
those of morality. She hopes
for the maturity of the Filipino
faithful to prevail over juvenile
inter-party quarrels and
narrow-minded perception
of what ails the nation and
the kind of leadership that will
lead us to solutions, not false
expectations. But her eyes also
reveal undisguised anxiety.
The level of cynicism and
distrust among so many
Filipinos in the present
political system and those
that represent it seems
too loud to be ignored. It
is palpable not only in the
ordinary conversations and
media-facilitated exchanges
of viewpoints and standpoints
but also in survey results as
dissected by sober analyses.
Far too many of the poor have

Summer MIBs

far too little share of the socalled development pie. So

many of the so-called middle
class and upper crust elite
are so dissatisfied with the
seemingly ironclad impunity
of criminals, unchecked
government corruption and
inefficiency, breakdown in
the mass transport and traffic
systems that they are now
ready to make drastic rather
than right choices.
The personality cult in
Philippine politics also further
obscures the already short
memory our people have in
their collective sense, if at
all, of history. The Church
realizes this, too. But while
she decries the amnesia of
past ills, she also sees how
much the nation needs a
sense of mutual forgiveness
and reconciliation among its
By the Roadside / A7

Whatever
Fr. Francis Ongkingco

I WAS helping out in FORGE, a summer

boys youth camp organized by some
parents and friends. Some seventy
boys participated in the camp that
would immerse them into almost an
entire week of sports, obstacle courses
and hikes, guitar, drawing and other
hobby classes, character building talks,
meeting boys from other schools, and
many more fun events.
There were additional staffers, also
students from higher year levels,
who helped out as counselors to the
younger boys. Each were assigned
three to four younger boys whom they
accompanied through each days events
and personally engaged to focus on areas
of improvement in their character. The
experience was awesomely inspiring to
both the counselors and the campers!
Spiritual power-ups to these activities
were daily Mass and confessions for
those who wanted, and spiritual
guidance for the older boys. Honestly,
it was also a very moving experience for
me to witness how the boys of different
ages and backgrounds
bonded and matured together.
The last day of the camp was celebrated
with a Mass and a short program for the
parents who arrived to pick up their
boys. Some of the campers displayed
their paintings, sketches, and plastic
scale models. The rest performed with
musical instruments and songs in the

Collection Box

program for their families.

In the Mass I asked the boys to
consider what they could take home
from the camp. Surely, they couldnt
bring home Zoro, the campers favorite
goat mascot that behaved more like a
dog than a goat. Neither can they bring
home the air, the grass, and the water
from the lake. So what can we bring?
I suggested three youthful MIBs that
they could carry on with during the
summer break:
a) Make It Bawi: Going back to their
usual environment means digital comforts,
food intake, and companions. The youth
camp was quite a challenge! Since one
of the requirements was not to bring any
digital device. The boys naturally missed
their tablets, XBOXs, and the latest in
Facebook. Another challenge was food!
Besides the quantity, it was not being
able to be picky at what to eat. They were
encouraged to take whatever was prepared.
Now, making bawi doesnt mean
splurging on what they had missed
for nearly a week on digital devices
and food. It refers more to learning
how to rectify when making mistakes
or lacking in family and social duties.
Instead of being indifferent, they ought
to promptly rectify and begin again. But
this requires another B.
b) Make It Banat: This literally means
giving it your ALL. Rectifying would
not be complete if one doesnt put all

Fr. Jerome R. Secillano, MPA

THERE is a great chance that Mayor

Rodrigo Duterte will win the presidency
in the May 9 elections. Judging from
the number of those supporting and
cheering for him, I would like to think
the actual presidential election becomes
a mere formality before he gets crowned
with the highest post in the land. Why
Dutertes supporters continue to hold
the mayor in high esteem after all the
hullabaloo involving him is beyond
comprehension. Rival candidates must
be very envious of this guy because while
they are adversely affected by issues
thrown at them, the mayor remains
unscathed with all the brickbats hurled
at him. He remains popular and the
more his supporters rally behind him
when they sense that he is harassed and
persecuted.
This foul-mouthed guy must be
very blessed because no amount of
issues seems to pull him down or
prevent him from finally claiming the
presidency. Never mind the cursing,
and the disrespect for women and
persons with disabilities; never mind
his disregard for our countrys allies;
never mind his being a womanizer;
never mind his killing people, they are
a menace to society anyway; never mind
the West Philippine Sea, the Chinese
will build railways in Mindanao anyway;
never mind if he hides from us his true
assets or net worth, its his anyway;
never mind his decision to close both
houses of Congress if threatened with
impeachment; never mind even if he
doesnt have a sound economic plan
for the country. Who cares about these
issues, its Duterte anyway!

his heart into it. Thus, when we begin

again from failures, mistakes, and even
our sins, we mustnt merely correct
a wrong but raise the struggle a level
higher. This means not being satisfied or
not giving in to mediocrity. One way to
know if one is making bawi sincerely
is his efforts to do things well and better.
Summer gives us many opportunities
to make it banat. For example, instead
of simply avoiding sporadic laziness, we
could come out with a personal schedule
to productively use both time and
resources. Another would be not simply
hanging out with friends but to plan
out things with them to do things that
they wouldnt have a chance of doing
during the school year.
c) Make It Bongga: The last B which
means festive, caps the previous
MIBs. To rectify by giving it your all
is further enriched when it is done
cheerfully. The festive atmosphere of
our service, work, and presence also
helps others to feel understood and
loved. In turn, they also carry out their
duties and obligations joyfully. As St.
Josemara wrote, Holiness is not rigid
like cardboard; it knows how to smile, to
give way to others and to hope. It is life a supernatural life. (The Forge, no. 156)
May summer be a wonderful and
graceful time, for young and not so
young, to make it bawi, banat and
bonga!!

Is Duterte a blessing to
the Philippines?

While most candidates took pains to

present their platforms, Duterte would
regale his listeners with raunchy jokes
and controversial heroic tales and
anecdotes. Surprisingly, even the more
educated ones could not contain their
amusement and appreciation while
listening to him. Much to the chagrin
of those who uphold and believe in
decency and ethics in public office,
Dutertes audacious claims and bravado
are winning lots of believers. For them,
this man is brave enough and has the
political will to go after the bad guys
and weed out corruption and criminality
in three to six months. Such incredible
claim has since been replaced by saying
that he will simply curtail and not totally
put an end to crime and corruption.
Even his self-deprecating claims
endeared him even further to the
majority of Filipinos. To his supporters,
these claims mean he is just being
true, after all. There is no pretense in
him, what you see is what you get, as
they often say. Until after Sen. Trillanes
dropped the bombshell with claims that
the Mayor has funds undeclared in his
Statement of Assets Liabilities and Net
worth (SALN). The mayor flip-flopped
on the issue but has since admitted
that he indeed owns the account with
his daughter Sara. A former Supreme
Court Chief Justice, who has since died,
lost his job because of the same case.
This is not a minor issue. It is an issue
that involves honesty and integrity
of public officials whose office enjoys
public trust. I may be wrong on this, but
I strongly believe that this issue should
be enough to undermine and unmask

the Duterte mystique.

He often brags about the number of
persons he killed as well as the number
of girlfriends he has. He also has no
qualms cursing to the point of being
callous, but he certainly has no b_ _ _s
keeping his SALN truthful. Clearly, he
deceived the government, the people
and the nation.
Duterte fanatics will surely frown on
this. They will argue, I think, that there
are no millions in the account as alleged
by Trillanes. They will call the Senator
a liar, a fraud, and a rouge element,
but the Senator has already proven one
thing, whatever the amount is, it is not
reflected in Dutertes SALN.
Few months back, Duterte has set
himself apart from the other presidential
candidates. While his rivals are guarded
and prudent in pronouncing their
platforms for the nation, Duterte
offered non-political solutions that
were practical and populist in scope and
strategy. While the other four were not
prone to talk about their personal lives,
Duterte was more open and hungry for
attention. He presented himself as nononsense and courageous in fighting
criminality and corruption while his
rivals were very calculating to the point
of being predictable or inutile.
Yes, Duterte remains a strong
candidate. Many see him as a blessing
capable of lifting our country up from
her miserable condition, but he is
definitely not a savior. With the many
issues he was embroiled in, he may well
be considered an abomination and just
like Binay, simply a political anomaly
in these forthcoming elections.

Duc in altum

Atty. Aurora A. Santiago

Let the True Peoples

Voice Win
BARELY a week before the much talked about May 9
elections, different opinions from all walks of life about
the presidential candidates could be heard and read
over radio and television talk shows, newspapers, and
social media. The talks and debates had peaked to a
point where relationships and friendships have been
strained and lost, and worst has led to useless killing.
I was surfing through the posts in Facebook when I
came across the story of a netizen, Ms. Evelyn de LeonEstrada, who really nailed it on the head, a very timely
and appropriate advice which is a must for everyone
to heed: Dont let a presidential debate injure great
friendships. We all have to live with the decision of the
people come May 9, and our bets may lose the election,
but we dont have to lose friends because of it. So take
extra care in choosing your words when arguing your
point with your friends. The candidates (that) you
staunchly defend wont even know you exist. (highlight
supplied.).
In connection with that, may I add that in our
discussions of the issues, let us not resort to using
profane, obscene, and condescending words which
do not only humiliate and embarrass the candidates
but also degrade the personality and integrity of their
supporters. In climbing up the stairs of power, do not
pull others down. Let us stick to intelligent exchange of
ideas on issues and platforms, since we are all civilized
people, arent we?
The present candidates may not live up to our
expectations because we are given a limited field to
choose from. We have to accept the fact that whether we
like it or not, we must choose whom we think is the best.
Our choice may be the lesser evil, but let it be; they are
the only persons to choose from. That is better, instead
of allowing to win the least qualified and the one who
would bring our country to doomsday. Despite the lack
of qualified candidates, the Filipino voters must really
deliberate and evaluate whom they will vote, especially
on who will be our countrys President. Experience
in the past should have taught all of us that the best
debater is not necessarily the best person. A candidate
can be very articulate and expert in the choice of words
that click with the electorate, but words are not enough,
we need action.
A candidate may not frequent the church of his
chosen religion; he may not talk Gods Words; he may
not do Gods work; however, is it not true that, not all
church-goers walk the talk; not all who profess to be
religious, practice what they preach? Let the person
without sin cast the first stone.
Let us go out and vote those whom we think are good
servant leaders. Let us elect the ones whose foremost
aim is the interest of the people, not their own personal
and vested interest. Let us vote those who are not afraid
to make decisions and would not be influenced by their
campaign fund contributors. Let us support those who
will not be swayed by fear or fervor, those who will not
die if they did not win, those who are willing to die
serving the people.
Bishop Ruperto Santos, Bishop of Balanga and
Chairman of CBCP Episcopal Commission on Migrant
and Itinerant People issued a statement about the
revival of the Tanim-Bala at the NAIA. We are again
confronted with the shameful tanim-bala scandal with
the discovery of a bullet in the bag of a 75-year old
Balikbayan woman, and her allegation that she was
asked to fork out Php50,000 to keep the discovery
under wraps and the charge against her withdrawn.
The questions in our minds are, why is this
happening again? How can the airport authorities
continue to be negligent and indifferent to this type of
incidents? Can they not find out the real and credible
explanation for this? Why havent they found out and
brought to justice the MIAA personnel responsible
for this?
Bishop Santos stated: It is not fun in the Philippines
when our airport authorities showed their insensitivity
and callousness towards the elderly Balikbayan and
OFW whose love of country they manifest with their
homecoming and sacrifices for their loved ones it is
no longer fun in the Philippines and our airport earns
notoriety as a place of extortion and blackmailing.
Our OFWs and travelling Filipinos should not have
to experience the anxiety and fear that come from it.
Identify, arrest, prosecute, convict, and punish all those
responsible for this, so we can bring stability to our
travel systems and restore the trust and confidence of
our OFWs and all Filipinos traveling from or to their
own country.
During the recent debate, Presidentiable Mar Roxas
said that he will remove the X-ray machines at the
NAIA Terminal entrance and that he will only retain
the X-ray before entering the plane. My younger sister
exclaimed: Goodness! The terrorists would love
this. They would have bombed and NAIA would have
exploded already before passengers reach the airplane
entrance. Common sense, it should be the other way
around. Mar Roxas is so out of touch with the real
issues... I better end the quote, lest I be put in a bad
light, hahaha.
Happy Birthday to Fr. Oscar Lucas, OMI, Fr. Oscar
Lucas, and Rev. Jay Arvin (Mendoza) De Leon nd
Happy Sacerdotal Anniversary to Fr. Heriberto
Villas, OMI, Fr. Ramon Bernabe, OMI, Fr. Romeo
Marcelino, OMI, Fr. Hilario Sigian, Jr., OP, and
Fr. Ricardo Torrefiel. Happy Birthday also to my
brother-in-law Roberto Imperial, husband of my
sister Flordeliza, and father of my nephew and nieces
Roberto Enrico, Ria Edeliza, and Raiza Elmira.
Happy Birthday also to Jefferson Ledesma of San
Roque Cathedral.

A6 FEATURES

May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

Quevedo warns voters

about promises of change
A RANKING Church official called on
Catholic voters not to be mesmerized
by promises of change by candidates
seeking the countrys top post.
Cardinal Orlando Quevedo said what
the country needs is a radical and
profound change in mind, behavior,
and values.
Sadly, a candidate who promises
change could have the same values and
behavior that require change, said
Quevedo, the Archbishop of Cotabato.
Faithful to Jesus
He called on Catholic voters to apply
their moral and religious values when
they cast their ballot for the local and
national elections on Monday next week.
Do not be mesmerized by surveys
and claims of change by any means.
Follow the road of the Christian disciple,
faithful to the Lord Jesus and to the
teachings of his Church, said Quevedo.
Help heal our political culture. Place
your choices in the hands of Mary, Our

Wanted: pro-life candidates

He urged voters to support candidates
who have an option for the poor and
those with moral integrity or someone
that is not tainted by corruption,
unexplained wealth, and properties, and
enrichment in office.
The prelate also said bets who respect
and defend the right life, especially of
the unborn and demonstrate respect for
and fidelity to his or her faith deserve the
votes of the Catholics.
In the context of central and southern
Mindanao, he urged voters to choose
those who will work for a just and lasting
peace.

Cardinal Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato MELO ACUA

Select a candidate who will be a just

peacemaker, he added.
The cardinal also underscored the
importance of competence of candidate
to govern 100 million Filipinos and lead
them to a better life.
Study the track record of the
candidate, he said. Select a candidate
who does not aspire to be the messiah
but is humble as well as respectful of
others freedom and competencies.
(Roy Lagarde / CBCPNews)

chance in life, Diamante

said.
Death penalty, he said, is
one issue that will influence
the voting of prison welfare
advocates and volunteers
nationwide.
Reiterating that death
penalty is not a deterrent to
crime, he said the countrys
next leaders must avoid using
it as a quick-fix option.
Instead of reviving for
death penalty, he asked
candidates to instead

advocate for measures and

programs for the welfare
of convicted prisoners and
detainees awaiting trial.
Since only detained
prisoners are allowed to vote,
Diamante asked them to
support those who will be
attending to their needs.
From facilitating their
cases and trials to pushing
rehabilitation programs,
these are among the issues
that need attention, said
Diamante.

He said there will be

around 64,000 detention
prisoners or half of the
countrys estimated 101,000
detainees who registered
and will be casting their
ballots during the May 9
elections.
This is the third time that
Commission on Elections
(Comelec) will be allowing
detainees to vote for national
positions. The first was in
2010 and then in 2013.
(CBCPNews)

And Thats The Truth/ A4

Close to a thousand people in support of the clamor for higher wages for workers
gathered in a rally in Mendiola, Manila just days before the elections on May 9.
ANA PERUCHO

CLOSE to a thousand people

in support of the clamor for
higher wages for workers
gathered in a rally in Manila
just days before the elections
on May 9.
On the 114th celebration
of Labor Day, the
mobilization made its way
from the Mendiola Arch to
the Manila Post Office with
several more groups joining
along the way.
Its been 26 years since I
started joining Labor Day
celebrations, every year
together with my fellow
workers, we voice out our
right to sufficient wages
and enough benefits, said
Fernando Gamboa, one of
the participants, in Filipino.
We, as citizens believe that
our minimum wage is not
enough to feed and support
our families, he added.
May 1 has become
synonymous to workers
rallies where they are able to

express their concerns in an

annual show of force.
I have been joining for 30
years now. We continuously
fight for the rights of the
workers, especially the
insufficient amount of our
wages, said Ruffo Galera,
another participant.
Albert Pargan, a first time
participant attended with
the belief and hope that they
will be heard if they continue
their efforts.
I want change, no more
corruption. I believe there is a
chance for progress, he said.
Before, workers fought
the 12-hour work schedule
and demanded 8 hours, now
its 8 hours. Now we fight for
sufficient and just wages for
every worker, said Gamboa
in Filipino.
There are positive
changes, it may be slow,
but we are slowly being
heard, he added. (Chrixy
Paguirigan / CBCPNews)

PPCRV / A1

to use their individual conscience in

voting. And by this Pastoral Letter, it
does something moreit places God
in the heart of the electoral process by
urging people to pray:
We commend the various initiatives
of our Catholic laity and other youth
associations to come together and
pray for guidance in choosing the right
leaders. In particular, we encourage you
to pray the rosary every day and receive
Holy Communion starting May 1 until
May 9. In this novena of rosaries and
Masses, we claim from the Lord the gift
of a godly electoral process. With the
permission of the bishops, the Blessed
Sacrament may be exposed for public
adoration to beg the Lord for the gift of
peaceful elections.

See, the media hoopla surrounding

the elections is dividing families and
making enemies of friends (who support
warring candidates). Our politicization
as a people has all but rubbed God out of
the picture. Why are we so het up about
the elections? Its all a gambleelection
results cant make us sure of anything,
but for sure God is with us, and will still
be with us after May 9. The world will
spin on whoever wins, whether by honest
or dishonest means. Promises will be
broken, and the candidates who made
them will be humbled to realize they
cannot deliver the changes they thought
they had the power to effect. Politicians
have been promising and breaking
promises since the time of Cicero, and
they will continue to do so for as long as

they are moved by ungodly forces.

Whoever were voting as our next
president, its more important that we
ask ourselves: Am I determined to be
a better citizen whoever the president
isto love my country finally? Or will
I continue to be indifferent and selfcentered, to steal, cheat, and lie at my
job? No president, king, emperorno
one mancan save a country, not even
change it in a significant way. All the
heroes we lionize are but inspiring
characters in history booksand history
books are bound to rot or be rewritten.
As for me, I do not trust in princes, in
mortal man (Psalm 146:3) but, yes,
I trust in the Living God, the God who
makes His dwelling in us if we love Him
and keep His word. And thats the truth.

Inaction / A1

farmers were demanding

15,000 sacks of rice; while
in Bukidnon, 5,000 farmers
were demanding 4,200 sacks
or 1 sack for each family; in
Koronadal, South Cotabato,
the 3,000 farmers are
demanding 15,000 sacks;
in Sultan Kudarat and
Saranggani, the demands
are also 15,000 sacks, while
in General Santos City,
8,000 sacks. There are 2,000
farmers in Cagayan De Oro
City, Misamis Oriental also
demanding food aid while
hundreds protested in Davao

Workers call for higher

wages in pre-poll rally

Mother and Intercessor, our Guide on

the journey to national renewal, he said.
The cardinal the made the statement
in a circular on the 2016 elections
addressed to Catholics in his archdiocese.
The circular also contained at
guidelines for voters who treasure
conscience as God-given.

Reject bets backing death penalty, voters urged

AN official of the Catholic
bishops prison ministry
has warned voters against
electing candidates pushing
for the return of death
penalty.
Rodolfo Diamante,
executive secretary of
the CBCPs Commission
on Prison Pastoral Care,
said capital punishment is
opposed to the Church moral
teachings on vital issues.
We are against it.
Everybody deserves a second

CBCP Monitor

City and Pagadian City,

Zamboanga Del Sur.
Meanwhile in Cagayan
Valley, about 3,000 farmers
protested marking the April 22
Earth Day by demanding relief
from the effects of the drought.
In Negros, farm workers are
demanding government aid
as they are facing tiempo
muerto or the dead season or
the non-existence of sources
of livelihood as the lands are
monocropped with sugarcane.
The dead season in Negros is
estimated to affect 5 million
farmers.

Bulldozed
In Quezon City, farmers
affect by the MRT 7 project
in San Jose Del Monte
City, Bulacan protested
near Aquino Times Street
residence as it is bulldozing
their crops that are their
only sources of livelihood.
In Hacienda Luisita, farm
workers also condemned the
recent bulldozing of their
crops by the CojuangcoAquino family.
Farmers protesting by the
tens of thousands is serious
and their legitimate demands

should not be belittled,

stressed Aover.
In response to the
Kidapawan atrocity, the
religious women and men
of RMP launched a relief
mission to gather support
for the farmers in Mindanao
and other regions affected by
drought.
RMP urged the religious
community to ask the same
question while concretely
taking steps to alleviate
the poverty and hunger the
agricultural sector is now
confronting. (CBCPNews)

Youth / A1

this for our country, consecrated to the

Immaculate Conception, so that we may
elect leaders after the Good Shepherds
heart, her Sons heart.
For Filipino Chinese youth Jan
Richmond Tieng, the importance of
prayer in the electoral process cannot
be stressed enough.
We ought to pray. We ought to pray
first. We ought to pray more, said the
29-year old Parish Pastoral Council
assistant secretary of the National
Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus in Manila.
Before anything and everything, we
ought to pray first, and to continually
pray. Prayer is about seeking Gods grace
to strengthen our conscience, to grant us
the means to discern well our choice of
candidates, to exercise utmost prudence
in our dealings with other people, online
or face to face, stressed Tieng.
Rosary for polls
The call by the head of the bishops
conference seems to be a mere echo
of already existing sentiments among
the faithful as seen through a 3rd year
Ateneo de Manila law student s own

rosary campaign for the May 2016 polls,

organized two days earlier than CBCP
president Archbishop Socrates Villegas
message.
Leia Go admitted it was the possibility
of a Duterte Marcos administration
that pushed her to organize the Rosary
Crusade for 2016 Elections over the
popular social networking site Facebook.
I am concerned about the
possible return to the brutality of
Martial law. We have had talks in
school about the tortures suffered by
activists and many innocent people.
We cannot let that happen again.
Campaigning isnt enough. Without
God, we are powerless to do anything
good, said the 27-year old, who is
studying to be a lawyer, specializing
in a human rights.
Singular grace
She also drew the connection between
the role of the rosary in saving the
country from the Marcos dictatorship.
Go explained: People have been
dismissing the human right abuses
of Martial Law. Mama Mary even

intervened 30 years ago. The EDSA

revolution inspired somewhat peaceful
revolutions around the world. Arent
these enough proof that the suffering
of the country under Martial Law was
real? That a return to democracy was
Gods will?
Mama Mary saved us before she can
do it again I hope that praying the
rosary and relying on God and Mama
Mary, our country will spared from
further human rights abuses, she said.
In a message issued earlier this
month, Villegas asked the faithful to
pray all the mysteries of joy, light,
sorrow and glory every day until May 9.
He said: Pray as a family. Pray
while travelling. Pray in the offices
or factories. Pray everywhere for our
national elections.
The prelate also quoted the Venetian
senators saying after what is said to be
the most crucial naval clash in history,
the Battle of Lepanto of 1571: It was
not courage, not arms, not leaders
but Mary of the Rosary that made
us victorious. (Nirvaana Ella
Delacruz / CBCPNews)

provision of replacement
ballots, which according to
her, could possibly trigger a
ballot shortage if there will
be higher voter turnout than
past elections.
She expressed concern that
the effect of the last-minute
changes will be shouldered
by the Board of Election
Inspectors (BEIs).
These changes are
confusing for people on the
ground, explained De Villa.
She lamented that even the
preparations of the PPCRV are
also affected by the last-minute
adjustments since they have to
train their volunteers yet again.
Even poll watchers, even
if we want to train them
properly, we cannot since we
changed [the process] several
times, said De Villa.
The citizens arm of the
Comelec also lashed out at the
seeming lack of transparency
in the deployment of the vote
counting machines (VCMs) and
other election paraphernalia.
Lacking information
De Villa said they were

expecting to be informed when

the VCMs will be dispatched
from their warehouse, their
expected schedule of arrival
at their destinations, and at
which specific warehouses.
How can we be sure if there
were no interventions when
they did not give us those
information? she asked.
On Tuesday, the PPCRV
unveiled its command center
for the 2016 polls at the Pius
XII Catholic Center in Manila
where its unofficial parallel
count will be conducted.
Among the new services
PPCRV will be providing is
the launch of a precinct finder
from its website to help voters
locate their precincts.
Ana Singson, PPCRV
Communications Director,
said they requested the
needed data from the Comelec
whose website was defaced by
hackers last month.
De Villa also revealed
they are deploying an
estimated 700,000 PPCRV
volunteers nationwide on
election day. (R. Lagarde/
CBCPNews)

Accountability / A1

Transparent, and Honest

for the May 9 elections.
To do so, the church leader
urged the presidential and
senatorial candidates present
to evaluate what the real
needs of the people are.
Over the next six years,
he urged the countrys next
leaders to do everything in
their power to live up to those
responsibilities, building
better and safer communities
in the country.
According to him, assessing
the needs of people refers
to what will be good for
majority of Filipinos, and not
just their allies.
The candidates also need
to study. Study what are
the real needs of the people
that voted for him. That will
go beyond party politics
because we are already
talking about common
good, said Tagle.
At least two presidential
and 17 senate bets attended
the signing of the covenant
for clean polls.
Of the five candidates
for president, only Vice
President Jejomar Binay

and administration bet Mar

Roxas were present during
the event held with only a
week before the elections.
No vice-presidential
candidates attended the
event, although Liberal Party
bet Leni Robredo sent a
representative.
Senatorial aspirants
present included Rep.
Martin Romualdez, Rep.
Roman Romulo, Sen Tito
Sotto, Susan Ople, among
others.
We would have preferred
their physical presence
as this would show their
solidarity with the moral
position of the Church for
this coming election, said
Radio Veritas president Fr.
Anton Pascual.
He revealed all 66
candidates had been sent
invitations, but many
were unavailable due to
their scheduled campaign
sorties.
Basically, in spirit, those
who are not here also support
this TRUTH Covenant of
the Church, said Pascual.
(CBCPNews)

DIOCESAN NEWS

CBCP Monitor

FEATURES A7

May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

Pray before you click, netizens urged

BACOLOD City Always pray
before you click.
Adding a twist to a now famous
line, a church worker appealed
to citizens and netizens alike to
be more prayerful and charitable
amidst a political campaign period
that can only be described as
rancorous and hurtful.
People are becoming too
passionate as regards the political
candidates they would like to
support, observed Marcela
Buenafe, Administration Staff of
Bacolods Social Action Center,
in charge of the recently-formed
Diocesan Task Force Eleksyon
2016.

Wounds inflicted
No less than the Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP) President, and Lingayen
Dagupan Archbishop Socrates B.
Villegas, in his pastoral appeal to
the nation issued on May 1, said:
Many wounds have been inflicted.
This is true not only of candidates
but also of their supporters. Even
close friends have parted ways
because of differences in political
persuasion and in the choice of
candidates to support.
As a reminder that is ever timely,
it can be recalled that as early as
1997 the bishops in the Philippines,
in their Pastoral Exhortation on

Philippine Politics, described

Philippine politics the way it is
practiced- has been most hurtful
of us as a people. It is probably
the biggest bane in our life as a
nation and the most pernicious
obstacle to our achieving full human
development.
Instrument of peace
As the national and local elections
near, Buenafe advised We should
be more careful [with] what we post
on the social media, especially our
thoughts and our opinions.
Sharing her personal experience,
the church worker admitted that
praying the St. Francis prayer

Lord, make me an instrument of

your peace every time she goes
online has helped her very much,
encouraging everyone present to
do the same.
Build bridges, peace, harmony
In his message for World
Communications Sunday which
is observed on the Solemnity of
the Ascension of Our Lord, Pope
Francis reminded the faithful of
the power of communication to
build bridges and advised people
to select their words and actions
with care, in the effort to avoid
misunderstandings and to build
peace and harmony.

Yolanda-damaged church to become

St. Anthony de Padua Shrine
TABON-TABON, Leyte
Once completely devastated
by super typoon Yolanda,
the now reconstructed and
bigger St. Anthony de Padua
Parish will be serving as an
archdiocesan shrine in the
future.
We will make [the parish]
a shrine of St. Anthony
de Padua for the whole
archdiocese where we can
do pilgrimage, especially
for the devotees of St.
Anthony de Padua, said
Palo Archbishop John Du.
God has a plan for the
people of Tabon-Tabon,
said the prelate in a Mass he
presided over during the visit
here of two first-class pilgrim
relics of St. Anthony of Padua
on April
US bishops initiative
Du, who is a devotee of the
miraculous saint, marveled
at the size of the new church
edifice in St. Anthony de
Padua Parish in this town vis-vis the towns population.

The smaller old church of

St. Anthony of Padua located
at the towns poblacion
collapsed during the
onslaught of super typhoon
Yolanda in 2013 and typhoon
Ruby in 2014.
With the help of US bishops,
the new concrete church
was built near the site of the
destroyed old wooden church.
The church could
accommodate around
a thousand churchgoers,
including 250 persons in the
choir loft.
Canon law on shrines
Du initially thought of
changing the beneficiary for
the US bishops initiative,
considering the expanse
of the design vis--vis the
small number of the towns
populace.
Canon 1230 of the Code
of Canon Law of the Roman
Catholic Church defines
a shrine as a church or
other sacred place to which
numerous members of the

Hundreds of believers of San Antonio de Padua flocked the parish church in Tabon-Tabon
for the concelebrated Mass presided over by Palo Archbishop John Du during the visit of
the saints pilgrim image on April 25, 2016. EILEEN N. BALLESTEROS

faithful make pilgrimage

for a special reason of piety,
with the approval of the
local ordinary.
Section 1 of Canon 1232
provides, The local ordinary
is competent to approve
the statutes of a diocesan
shrine; the conference of
bishops for the statutes of

a national shrine; the Holy

See alone for the statutes
of an international shrine.
Tabon-Tabon is a fifth class
municipality in the province
of Leyte with population of
barely 9,838 residents as
of 2010 census. (Eileen
Nazareno-Ballesteros /
CBCP News)

Eco group outs Localized Paris Agreement

CEBU CityA Cebu-based
environmental collective has released
the Localized Paris Agreement
in a bid to contextualize the proclimate proposals of the original Paris
Agreement of 2015.
We are advocating and
proposing 100% renewables as
our way of engagement of making
counterproposal to environmental
violators, explained Dann Diez,
a founding member of the newlyformed Pusyon Kinaiyahan (Alliance
for Earth), which focuses on grassroots
environmental campaigns.
Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma led
the signing of the document during
the recent Earth Day celebration in
the archdiocese.
Following the prelates example
were parish leaders, environmental
activists, and a number of local
government officials.
The historic event coincided with
the official launch of the Archdiocesan

Commission on Social Advocacies.

The summary of the Localized
Paris Agreement reads as follows:
The Paris Agreement is beyond
Paris, it rests in all areas affected
by the climate crisis. We, the
undersigned commit to care for
the Earth and make a definitive
pledge in the framework of the Paris
Agreement to respond the climate
crisissecuring a sustainable future
for the people and the planet.
Demand divestment in fossil fuels
and transition to 100% renewables
by 2050, and encourage our power
sector in the business community to
reinvest in renewables and alternative
green solutions; Commit to make
Cebu an eco-sustainable province,
rejecting profit-driven businesses in
the guise of development (mining,
coal-fired power plants, pollution
causing factories and all others
that can destroy our environment
and communities);Involve

our communities, organizations

and citizenry to be vigilant on
environmental issues, promote
integral environmental formation,
and active mobilization for ecological
engagement.
Moreover, Pusyon Kinaiyahan
(Alliance for Earth) trains young ecoleaders in the spirit of Pope Francis
Laudato Si to enable them take a
stand on issues related to ecological
destruction, particularly in Cebu.
We should not be blinded by
development, rather we should
awaken our people of how much we
have done to our mountains, seas and
rivers in the island of Cebu; totally
destroyed because of development,
commented Br. Tagoy Jakosalem,
OAR, another Pusyon Kinaiyahan
founding member, who is also the first
recipient of the Green Ring Award
given by The Climate Reality Project
(TCRP). (Raymond A. Sebastin
/ CBCP News)

By the Roadside / A5

many warring families, clans,

parties and communities.
Still, justice cannot
be sacrificed to achieve
national unity. Therein lies
the problem. Justice in the
Philippine context has not
only been painfully slow; it is
also mostly unattained. This,
I believe, is why Philippine
politics could be compared to
a typical showbiz celebrity; it
is perennially adolescent.
Whatever happens to the
May 9 polls, the Church will
always face challenges. If
the presidential and vicepresidential frontrunners
somehow get elected, this
particular observation
holds. The Church in her
colorful and diverse history
had dealt with many types
of governments and regimes
before, some friendly, others
downright hostile. She
survived persecutions and
even betrayals by some of
her own sons and daughters.

Our age or country does not

promise to be any different.
What the Church may find
more disturbing, especially
in the Philippine context,
is the rather non-negligible
number of those who, while
calling themselves Catholic,
also play a deaf ear to her or
advocate positions openly
contradicting their faith. In
Waray, we have a saying to the
effect that the most painful
thing a mother can go through
is being betrayed by her own
children.
And yet, there are also
opportunities before us.
For instance, there is the
opportunity to be purified
as Church. Time was when
the Church could influence
the powerful or move in their
corridors like she was one
of them. That is not exactly
gone, but it is considerably
diminished. This, I believe,
is to our great advantage.
We have an opportunity to

align ourselves more closely

in relation to the Master
who was not only powerless;
he was also a victim of the
powerful, like so many of our
poor who easily fall for their
promises many of which are
until now unfulfilled.
There is also the
opportunity to sow the Word
in humility. The more abuse
and rejection Church teaching
and preaching may meet
even among otherwise sober
believers, the less should pride
and arrogance characterize
our response. The silence of
Jesus before Pilate and on the
way to Calvary is deafening.
It is the silence of a humble
proclamation, one that is
about to end in a humiliating
defeat before staging an
overpowering resurrection.
This Jubilee Year of
Mercy also affords a special
opportunity for the Church
to truly be a Mother who
initiates the binding of

wounds, instead of joining

those who inflict more of
them. Our politics is divisive
enough. But are we pointing
to ways and means of bringing
about the lost unity? Do we
allow ourselves often enough
to be instruments of peace
and rekindlers of hope in
a country prone to calamity,
both natural and man-made?
Democracy has its
limitations. But, by far, it is the
better situation for our people
than the known alternatives.
The people may or may not
choose a government that
is friendly to the Church.
Whatever results will always
be a test and a trial for her. But
it matters little in the long run.
The Church does not flourish
by mans grace but by Gods. It
relies on the words of him who
declares: You are Peter and
upon this Rock, I will build my
Church and the gates of the
netherworld will not prevail
against it (Matthew 13:18).

In the same message, the Holy

Father cautioned, Emails, text
messages, social networks and
chats can also be fully human
forms of communication Social
networks can facilitate relationships
and promote the good of society,
but they can also lead to further
polarization and division between
individuals and groups.
The digital world is a public
square, a meeting-place where
we can either encourage or
demean one another, engage in a
meaningful discussion or unfair
attacks, the Pope warned. (Fr.
Mickey Cardenas / CBCP
News)

Malolos youth plan show

of force for polls
MALOLOS City, Bulacan
Election volunteers from
different parishes under the
Malolos vicariate attended
Parish Pastoral Council for
Responsible Voting (PPCRV)
trainings on April 29 in
preparation for a massive
show of force on election day,
May 9.
Some 250 volunteers
flocked to the Immaculate
Conception Cathedral and
Minor Basilica to attend the
Parish Pastoral Council for
Responsible Voting (PPCRV)
Conference and Orientation
Seminar spearheaded by the
Commission on Social Action
(CSA) and the Commission
on Youth.
Youth Power
Ronna Lyn Rubiano,
Vicarial Youth Coordinator,
said the Church relies on
the youths dynamism in
service. Not just as PPCRV
volunteers, the youth in our
vicariate and even in the
Diocese of Malolos have
always been playing an
important part in various
activities and programs of the
Church, she told CBCP News
in an interview.
Sem. Arvin Ray Jimenez
from the Immaculate
Conception Major Seminary
explained the primary roles
of each type of PPCRV
volunteer, explaining the
need to familiarize oneself
with his or her rights and
responsibilities to be more
effective in helping achieve
honest, orderly and peaceful
elections (HOPE).
Likewise, Jimenez
reminded the attendees about
the Churchs fervent call to
offer group and personal
prayers for the national
elections. He also instructed

the volunteers to remain

vigilant and focused during
the entire electoral process.
Meanwhile, a good number
of young Church leaders
were also seen at the event,
most of whom are first-time
volunteers. Those who were
able to register as voters
will be assigned as poll
watchers while those who
are not yet voters may man
the voters assistance desks
to guide people in finding
their respective precincts or
help in distributing food and
refreshments.
Active participation
In an interview, Fr.
Romualdo Go, spiritual
director of the Vicarial
Commission on Youth, who
was present at the event,
acknowledged PPCRVs
efforts in facilitating credible
polls and easing the publics
burden in exercising their
right to suffrage.
With the active
involvement of the Church in
this election process, still we
have been receiving various
reports of cheating and other
election-related violations,
what more if we end all our
efforts? added Go.
The Church will continue
to be impartial. We only
want to guide the faithful in
selecting the right leaders of
our country in accordance to
their conscience, he stressed.
At the end of the seminar,
Edith Arroyo, parish CSA
head, thanked all the
attendees, assuring them of
her availability to answer
task-related queries.
Fr. Gerry Fortunato, Vicar
Forane of the Vicariate
also graced the occasion.
(Myraine Carluen
Policarpio / CBCP News)

Candidly Speaking / A4

the hip, bullying, gloating,

obsession to dominate,
dogmatizing opinions, faultfinding, casuistry, mocking,
mudslinging, etc. Theres a lot
of tit-for-tat, the law of Talion
reigning supreme.
As a consequence, the
air gets polluted, proper
thinking, and judging are
hampered. Passions, tension,
and divisiveness escalate. A
perfect storm gathers.
Some people say that in
politics, charity should not
be the main consideration
but rather the truth, arrived
at through gathering of facts
and the strict use of reason and
logic. But if we examine closely
the allegations, we hardly find
any truth that is not tarred by
a litany of fallacies.
This is the real problem.
When charity is set aside and
is considered irrelevant in
our political discussions, we
are actually setting ourselves
up for bigger trouble. It
is precisely because of
the peculiar character of
politics, so vulnerable to
deteriorate and to hit the
skids, that charity should be
the primary consideration
as it should be in everything
else in life.
We have to learn to be
open-minded and tactful

in our dialogues, motivated

only by love for God and for
everyone else, which is what
the common good is all about
in the end. We have to learn to
be delicate in expressing our
views as well as not to be too
onion-skinned to receive the
positions of others, especially
the adverse ones.
We should try our best
to listen most attentively
to the others, get to know
them very well and discern
where they are coming from
when they express their
opinions. If they sound
unreasonable or ridiculous
and would even attack us,
we should not feel provoked
and tempted to mount some
personal attacks. That
would not help. Rather it
will worsen things.
What we have to do is to
help them see our point as
calmly and as charitably as
possible. If they do not accept
it, then let it be. We have to
learn to disagree without
being disagreeable, always
maintaining a healthy attitude
towards everyone.
In the end, we should not
forget that there is divine
providence that will guide
things to the proper end in
spite of our blunders and
stupidities.

A8

May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

CBCP Monitor

New Alaminos bishop installed Natl candidates sign

Bishop Ricardo Baccay installed as the new bishop of the Diocese of Alaminos in
Pangasinan. MARIA TAN

A NEW bishop was installed

in the Diocese of Alaminos in
Pangasinan on May 4.
Bishop Ricardo Baccay
is the third bishop of the
diocese, a post which had
been vacant since early 2014
when Marlo Peralta became
Archbishop of Nueva Segovia
in Ilocos Sur.
Thousands of bishops,
priests, the religious, and
lay people attended the
ceremony at 9:30 a.m. of May
4 at the St. Joseph Cathedral.
Born on on April 3, 1961
in Tuguegarao, he had

previously been the Auxiliary

Bishop of Tuguegarao for
eight years.
Baccay was ordained a
priest in April 1987 and was
appointed bishop 20 years
later.
The bishop will oversee
the 31-year old diocese, with
more than 660,000 residents,
82 percent of whom are are
Catholics.
He will also lead more than
40 priests and around 90
religious men and women
assigned in 20 parishes.
(CBCPNews)

Church mourns death of Bishop Labayen,

a strong voice of the poor
CATHOLIC bishops paid tribute to
Bishop Julio Xavier Labayen, who for
many years served the cause of the poor
in the field of social action, died on
Wednesday morning.
Caceres Archbishop Rolando Tria
Tirona said Labayen offered his 60
years of priestly ministry serving the
marginalized and fighting for the
protection of the environment.
He lived a dedicated life serving
and loving the Church especially the
poor, said Tirona, who currently
chairs the bishops National
Secretariat for Social Action- Justice
and Peace (Nassa).
The Church has been blessed with the
person and ministry of Bishop Labayen
especially his vision of the Church of the
Poor, he said.
A native of Negros Occidental,
Labayen was ordained a priest of
the Order of Discalced Carmelites in
July 1955. Eleven years later, he was
appointed Prelate of Infanta where he
served for almost 50 years.
Labayen, 89, reportedly passed away
at about 6:52 a.m. on Wednesday at
a hospital in Manila where he was
confined.
Fr. Eliseo Mercado, a known peace
advocate, said the prelate was among
the Churchs towering figures in the
struggle against Martial Law from the
beginning to the end.

Post-martial law, he remained the

strong voice against abuses of human
rights; a prophetic voice for genuine
land reform; and a voice for true and
equitable share in the wealth of the
nation, Mercado said.
In fact, history has it that Labayen was
among, if not its principal figure, the
famed Magnificent 7 a group of proactive Catholic bishops who fearlessly
denounced relentlessly President
Marcos martial rule.
Labayen was also the first national
director of Nassa and the CBCP
Commission on Social Action Justice
and Peace from 1966 to 1982.
According to Mercado the prelate
was one of the pioneers for the Basic
Christian Community-Community
Organizing (BCC-CO) in the Philippine
Church.
He said many bishops then were
fearful of the BCC-CO and substituted
it with Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC)
putting back the bishops and the clergy
at the center of the BEC to ward off
their perceived leftist penetration of
the Church.
However, the priest said Labayen
remained steadfast in the BCC-CO that
truly empowers the lay people in both
the governance of the Church as well as
in the celebration of the sacraments.
In 2014, the prelate was conferred
the Gawad Kagitingan national award

during the 106th anniversary of

the Philippine Independence at the
Monument of Heroes in Quezon City.
Despite his retirement as prelate of
Infanta in 2003, Labayen did not stop
in his struggle for the promotion of a
spirituality that is rooted and lived in the
humanity of each person, particularly
the poor.
During the Arroyo administration, the
indefatigable radical in Labayen made
him even more visible in almost every
forum amid the wrenching national
issues and problems besetting the
country.
On Nov. 29, 2007, Labayen with
Bishop Antonio Tobias were among
those arrested for allegedly joining the
mutineers who held out at a hotel in
Makati City while calling for withdrawal
of support for Arroyo.
The two were released by the
authorities the following day.
Current Infanta Prelate Bernardino
Cortez said Labayens life has been a
blessing to many people he served for
many years.
The prelature is thankful to all those
who became part of the life of Bishop
Labayen, said Cortez.
Labayens wake started Wednesday
evening at the Our Lady of Mount
Carmel Shrine Parish in New Manila,
Quezon City. (Roy Lagarde/
CBCPNews)

UST music conservatory marks 70 years

of love with concert
THE University of Santo
Tomas (UST) Conservatory
of Music, the largest musical
academic institution in
the country, will celebrate
nearly a century of
unspoken love with the
best vocals and musicians at
a benefit dinner and concert
on May 14, 6 p.m., at the
UST Paredes Building lobby
in Manila.
In line with the
Conservatorys 70th
founding anniversary,
the event, titled Love
Unspoken aims to raise
additional funds for the
institutions continued
grant of scholarships,
enhancement of facilities,
and upgrade of music
instruments and equipment.
In a rare occasion,
Conservatory of Music Dean
Raul Sunico, who is also the
president of the Cultural
Center of the Philippines,
will perform the Tchaikovsky
Piano Concert No. 1, while
world-renowned conductor
Prof. Herminigildo Ranera
will lead the all-student UST
Symphony Orchestra to an
enchanting musical treat,

reads a UST press release

about the event.
Two of the countrys
finest coloraturas Irma
Potenciano and Gloria
Coronel, both UST alumna,
will join a brilliant roster of
soloistsfaculty members
of the voice programin
the one-night concert,
rendering songs from the
opera, Broadway, and
Neapolitan repertoire.
Established in 1945,
the UST Conservatory
of Music is a premier
Philippine music school.
It has produced two
National Artists (Antonio
Buenaventura and Ernani
Cuenco) and leading
musical figures like Julio
Esteban Anguita, Bernardo
Custodio, Sergio Esmilla,
Jr., Benjamin Tupas,
Stella Goldenberg-Brimo,
Alejandra Atabug, and
Erlinda Fule, among others.
The UST Conservatory
of Music is the only music
school in the country
that boasts an all-student
symphony orchestra and
an all-student symphonic
band and is home to the

best student ensembles,

reads the press release.
The Commission on
Higher Education (CHED)
named its Bachelor of
Music program a Center of

Excellence.
For more information
interested parties may
contact the UST Conservatory
of Music at (02) 731-4022.
(CBCPNews)

Covenant for TRUTH

Candidates sign a covenant for Truthful, Responsible, Upright, Transparent & Honest
(TRUTH) Elections with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle present after a Mass at the Manila
Cathedral on Monday, May 2, 2016. Only two presidential bets Jejomar Binay and Mar
Roxas and 20 senatoriables attended the signing that was witnessed by some priests,
Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista, among others. ROY LAGARDE

PRESIDENTIAL bets and

other candidates for national
positions gathered for a Mass
with Cardinal Luis Antonio
Tagle of Manila on Monday,
May 2.
The occasion was
highlighted by the candidates
signing of the Covenant
for Truthful, Responsible,
Upright, Transparent, and
Honest (TRUTH) elections.
Other bishops and
priests of the archdiocese
concelebrated the Mass at
9:00 a.m. at the Manila
Cathedral.
Aside from Tagle, other
witnesses to the covenant
included Bishop Leopoldo
Tumulak of the Military
Ordinariate, Commission on
Elections chairman Andres

Bautista, and Parish Pastoral

Council for Responsible
Voting chairperson Henrietta
De Villa.
Task Force Eleksyon 2016
chairperson Atty. Rona
Ann Caritos; Huwag Kang
Magnakaw Movement lead
convenor and Archdiocese
of Manila Public Affairs
head Fr. Atillano Fajardo;
Pilipino Movement for
Transformational Leadership
lead convenor Atty. Alex
Lacson; and CBCP Committee
on Public Affairs Executive
Secretary Fr. Jerome
Secillano were also present.
Fr. Anton Pascual, president
of Radio Veritas, said the
event is also a spiritual
preparation for the May 9
elections. (CBCPNews)

Earthday Jam honors

environmental hero priest

Fr. Edwin Gariguez, executive secretary of

the National Secretariat for Social Action
(NASSA)/Caritas Philippines (center) is

honored at the GAIA Awards on April 23

in Pasay City. NASSA/CARITAS PHILIPPINES

THIS years Earth Day Jam

fted a priest leading the
social action, developmental,
and humanitarian arm of the
Catholic Bishops Conference
of the Philippi`nes (CBCP) at
the GAIA Awards on April 23
in Pasay City.
The Earthday Jam
Foundation, Inc. recognized
Fr. Edwin Gariguez, executive
secretary of the National
Secretariat for Social
Action (NASSA)/Caritas
Philippines, for leading
various environmental
advocacies and movements
on behalf of the Catholic
Church.
In his acceptance speech,
the priest read poem
renewing calls to protect the
earth from degradation and
mining abuses at the expense
of the poor.
While the poor are being
taken advantaged, some are
enjoying our limited natural
resources. They treat them as
blessings, which are actually
false progress, he said in
Filipino.
Gariguez had been most
recently recognized by the
Jesuit-run Xavier University

in Cagayan de Oro city for

championing the causes
of the environment and
indigenous communities.
On March 17, the institution
bestowed on Gariguez an
honorary doctorate.
In 2012, the priest also
won the prestigious
Goldman Environmental
Prize, arguably the worlds
most prestigious award for
grassroots environmental
activism.
Known for championing
the causes of the environment
and indigenous communities,
Gariguez also he led an 11-day
hunger strike with Mindoros
Mangyan to stop the mining
operations of the Norwegian
firm Intex in 2009.
Currently, he is leading
the churchs largest threeyear rehabilitation program
called REACHPhilippines
for survivors of Typhoon
Yolanda in nine
provinces, with ecosystem
rehabilitation as one of
its interventions, reads a
NASSA/Caritas Philippines
press release. (CBCPNews
/ NASSA / Caritas
Philippines)

BAUANG LA UNION FACEBOOK ACCOUNT

Historic bell returned to PH after US stay

AFTER a farewell ceremony
and Mass on April 29 at
New Yorks West Points
Most Holy Trinity Catholic
Chapel, a bell, which had
been in the U.S. for decades,
was finally sent back home:
the Saints Peter and Paul
Church in Bauang, La Union,
Philippines.
Rung one last time on
Friday, before being sent
back, the said bell was
removed from the 16th-

century old church in 1901

during the PhilippineAmerican War that lasted
from 1899 to 1902. U.S.
soliders routinely took bells
home as souvenirs, but at
times they were removed
for a military purpose to
prevent them from being
melted to make weapons.
The said bell has been
kept for several years on a
stand and was hung outside
the chapel, with a placard

that read in part: Symbol of

peace that even the ravages
of war could not destroy.
According to reports, at
some point, the bell fell
into the hands of Lt. Col.
Thomas Barry, who had been
deployed to the Philippines
in 1900-01. The West Point
class of 1877 graduate, who
eventually became its 27th
superintendent, gave the bell
to his alma mater in 1915. It
was brought to the Catholic

Church at West Point for

storage in 1937.
Dr. Rolando O. Borrimaga,
Professor at U.P. School of
Health Sciences in Palo,
Leyte, researched and
established the Bauang,
La Union origin of the bell
which was corroborated
by an University of Santo
Tomas (UST) archivist.
The return of the bell
is expected to generate
considerable excitement

in the Philippines because

of its comparison to the
two bells from Balangiga,
Eastern Samar, kept in
a U.S. Air Force base in
Wyoming.
Representatives from
the United States Military
Academy, the Philippine
Embassy, and the US/
Philippine Society attended
the valediction ceremony.
(Carl Jamie Simple S.
Bordeos / CBCP News)

PASTORAL CONCERNS B1

May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

Roy Lagarde

CBCP Monitor

Prophets of truth,
servants of unity

A pastoral appeal in the spirit of our love of God and country

MY dear countrymen:
We address you as we get nearer the
crossroads of our journey as citizens of
this land and citizens of heaven. We
bring to you a message of truth that may
be painful but hopefully liberating. We
offer you a hand to unite and our prayers
to the Lord to heal our land and people
divided by politics.
This is what the Catechism of the
Catholic Church teaches about Church
pronouncements on political issues: It is
a part of the Churchs mission to pass
moral judgments even in matters related
to politics, whenever the fundamental
rights of man or the salvation of souls
requires it. The means, the only means,
she may use are those which are in accord with the Gospel and the welfare
of all men according to the diversity of
times and circumstances. (CCC 2246)

In particular, we encourage you to pray

the rosary every day and receive Holy
Communion starting May 1 until May
9. In this novena of rosaries and Masses,
we claim from the Lord the gift of a godly

To you our dear candidates, we plead.

In less than two weeks, the sovereign
people will choose who should govern
them. It is this that makes us a free
people. We, your bishops of this coun-

in political persuasion and in the choice

of candidates to support. As we advise
our voters, so we also say to you dear
candidates: Pray! Pray not only to win
but pray that the Lord may show by His
signs His chosen leader for this nation,
this nation who calls on Him at the
crossroads of its national life.

deceive or mislead the people by proffering them falsehoods, much less defraud
the nation.
The campaign period has been rancorous. This is regrettable. Many

The Catholic Church has always demanded of Catholic

voters that they cast their votes as an act not only of
citizenship but also as a public declaration of faith.
electoral process. With the permission of
the bishops, the Blessed Sacrament may
be exposed for public adoration to beg
the Lord for the gift of peaceful elections.

try, therefore ask of you to allow each

Filipino the free and untrammeled right
to an informed choice. This means,
among other things, that you cannot

Time to Unite
When the elections shall have been
concluded and winners proclaimed in
accordance with law, we beg you all,
in the name of Jesus Christ, to be instruments of peace, reconciliation and
healing. Let those who prevail rise in
nobility above the hurtful words that
may have been uttered by opponents,
and draw them rather into a government of unity, but unity that firmly rests
neither on expediency nor compromise,
but on truth and justice.
We ask all who shall be sworn in
to remember that when they take the
oath that the law requires of them,
they call on God as their witnessand
even if they may not expressly do so,
they swear in the sight of Gods People.
Every public official swears to uphold
and to defend the Constitution and to
do justice to every man and woman.
Not whim then, nor arbitrariness, not
vendetta nor revenge, but the rights of
Gods people enshrined in the Constitution and their demand for justice, unity,
progress and peace to which every law
must respond!
Whoever wins honestly, whoever
takes the oath of his or her office
seriously, whoever strives to heal the
wounds of the divisiveness of politics,
whoever respects the rights of all and is
earnest in his or her fear of God and is
zealous for his precepts has the support
of the Catholic Bishops Conference of
the Philippines, and we will do everything together with our priests so that
all our people, to the remotest barangays
to which we minister, may rally around
a just and God-fearing government
that visits no vengeance on foes but is
characterized by mercy and compassion
for all, not only for allies!

wounds have been inflicted. This is

true not only of candidates but also
of their supporters. Even close friends
have parted ways because of differences

Discerning our Choices

The nationally telecast debates as
well as the publicized utterances and
actuations of our candidates, particularly those who vie for the high office
of President of the Republic, have
given us all a glimpse of who they are,
what they represent and the causes they
championor reject.
There is a fundamental difference between right and wrong, and not everything is fair game in politics. A choice
for a candidate who takes positions that
are not only politically precarious but
worse, morally reprehensible, cannot
and should not be made by the Catholic faithful and those who take their
allegiance to Christ and his Kingship
seriously. One cannot proclaim Christ
as King and at the same time accept
the governance of one whose thoughts,
speech and demeanor are diametrically
opposed to the demands of submission
to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
The desire for change is understandable. Our people have suffered from
incompetence and indifference. But
this cannot take the form of supporting
a candidate whose speech and actions,
whose plans and projects show scant regard for the rights of all, who has openly
declared indifference if not dislike and
disregard for the Church specially her
moral teachings.
The Catholic Church has never
asked any political candidate to seek its
endorsement, but the Catholic Church
has always demanded of Catholic voters
that they cast their votes as an act not
only of citizenship but also as a public
declaration of faith. We ask this most
earnestly of all of you, Catholic brothers
and sisters, in the forthcoming election.

From the Catholic Bishops Conference

of the Philippines, May 1, 2016
Roy Lagarde

A Nation at Prayer
We commend the various initiatives
of our Catholic laity and other youth associations to come together and pray for
guidance in choosing the right leaders.

Prayer
I invoke the Blessed Mother to cover
our nation with her maternal love and
to beseech her Son to grant us all the
favor of meaningful, peaceful elections
and a government thereafter that unifies
our people in the sight of God and in
accordance with His will. Lord heal our
land. Lord heal our land.

+SOCRATES B. VILLEGAS
Archbishop of Lingayen - Dagupan
President, Catholic Bishops Conference
of the Philippines

B2 PASTORAL CONCERNS

May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

CBCP Monitor

Empowering the laity for politics

By Fr. Jaime B. Achacoso, J.C.D.

a. Loose Sense of Lay Empowerment

in Daily Usage.
To my mind, this is the most unfortunate sense of the expression lay
empowerment, which usually refers to
those manifestations of cooperation
of lay faithful in the ministry of clericsmore often than not in connection
with the liturgy. This is the reason for
the unreasonable exultation of the phenomenon of lay ministries as an icon or
model of commitment of the lay faithful
in the Church.
If I trained a fish to somehow move
on muddy ground, I would not have
really empowered it, because it is not
proper for a fish to be terrestrial but
aquatic. Likewise, if I trained a bird
to walk instead of fly, again I wouldnt
have empowered it but denatured it
somehow, because it could never really
walk as well as it could fly, because thats
the way it was created.
While the so-called lay ministries
are licit and laudable, what we cannot forget is that they are many times
suppletory in naturei.e., to supply for
the lack of ordained ministers, whether
temporarily or more stably (cf. c.230).
They always constituteto a greater or
lesser extenta denaturing of the lay
character of being in the world.
b. Improper Sense of Lay Empowerment in the Code of Canon Law.
Improper means not proper or not
really pertaining to or not corresponding to. This is the first sense of lay
empowerment that we can find in the
Code of Canon Law, referring to the
manifestations of the cooperation of the
lay faithful with the ordained ministers
in the exercise of the sacra potestas
or power of jurisdiction (or power of
governance) which is really proper of
the ordained ministers. This is the sacred
power that Christ gave the Apostles
(on Peter and the Apostolic College
principally) and their successors, which
they exercise with the other ordained

File photo

Time and again, I have heard the expression lay empowerment in the lips of
priests and our parish lay leaders. More
often than not, they would be referring to
the faculties now granted to some of our
parishioners to act as lay ministersto
have a more active participation in the
liturgical ceremonies and to be extraordinary ministers for Holy Communion
or to form part of the Parish Pastoral
Council. In contrast, every election time,
I inevitably get asked by well-meaning
Catholic laypeople whom to vote for.
What does the expression lay empowerment really mean? What is the proper role
of the hierarchybishops and priestsin
the political life of the country?

Understanding Lay Empowerment
The problem with words is that many
times they are not univocal (having
only one sense) but are rather equivocal
(having more than one sense). This is
what happens with the notion of the
oft-quoted expression of lay empowerment or empowerment of the laity.

ministers in persona Christi capitis (in

the person of Christ the Head).
An attentive reading of c.129 of
the Code throws a lot of light on this
matter:
Can. 129 1. In accord with the
prescriptions of law, those who have received sacred orders are capable of the
power of governance, which exists in the
Church by divine institution and is also
called the power of jurisdiction.
2. Lay members of the Christian
faithful can cooperate in the exercise of
this power in accord with the norm of law.
Empowerment of the laity
The proper sense of empowerment of
the laity in Canon Law is enshrined in a

belongs to all citizens; when they exercise

such freedom, however, they are to take
care that their actions are imbued with the
spirit of the gospel and take into account
the doctrine set forth by the magisterium
of the Church; but they are to avoid proposing their own opinion as the teaching
of the Church in questions which are
open to various opinions. Politics and
the electoral exercise obviously belong
to this field.
2) Right to decent remuneration
for special service to the Church: Can.
231, 2: [Except for the stable ministries
of lector and acolyte] they have a right to
a decent remuneration suited to their condition; by such remuneration they should
be able to provide decently for their own
needs and for those of their family with

duties:
1) To sanctify marriage and family:
Can.226, 1. Lay persons who live in the
married state in accord with their own vocation are bound by a special duty to work
for the upbuilding of the people of God
through their marriage and their family.
2) To acquire appropriate formation for ecclesial tasks: Can.231
1. Lay persons who devote themselves
permanently or temporarily to some special
service of the Church are obliged to acquire the appropriate formation which is
required to fulfill their function properly
and to carry it out conscientiously, zealously, and diligently.
c. Right-Duties of Lay Christian
Faithful.

If I trained a bird to walk instead of fly, again I wouldnt

have empowered it but denatured it somehow, because it
could never really walk as well as it could fly.
set of canons contained in Book II: The
People of God, Title II: The Obligations and Rights of the Lay Christian
Faithful, covering cc.224-231. These
canons, in fact, positivized and formalize a set of rights and duties which are
really proper and specific to the lay
faithfulnot something they have in
common with clerics and religious, as
covered by Title I: The Obligations and
Rights of all the Christian Faithful,
cc.208-223and therefore constitute
a proper empowerment of the laity as
such.
a. Rights of Lay Christian Faithful.
The Code enumerates two rights and
a capacity of lay faithful:
1) Freedom in temporal affairs:
Can.227. Lay Christian faithful have
the right to have recognized that freedom
in the affairs of the earthly city which

due regard for the prescriptions of civil

law; they likewise have a right that their
pension, social security and health benefits
be duly provided.
3) Capacity to cooperate in the
governance of the Church: Can.228
1. Qualified lay persons are capable
of assuming from their sacred pastors those
ecclesiastical offices and functions which
they are able to exercise in accord with the
prescriptions of law.
2. Lay persons who excel in the
necessary knowledge, prudence, and uprightness are capable of assisting the pastors
of the Church as experts or advisors; they
can do so even in councils, in accord with
the norm of law. This is not a right, but
just a capacity.
b. Duties of Lay Christian Faithful.
The Code enumerates the following

In some cases, what the Code establishes are rights which are at the same
time duties. In these cases, the mode
of empowerment is even more encompassing:
1) To do apostolate in the world:
Can. 225 1. Since the laity like all the
Christian faithful, are deputed by God to
the apostolate through their baptism and
confirmation, they are therefore bound
by the general obligation and enjoy the
general right to work as individuals or in
associations so that the divine message of
salvation becomes known and accepted
by all persons throughout the world; this
obligation has a greater impelling force
in those circumstances in which people
can hear the gospel and know Christ only
through lay persons.
2. Each lay person in accord with his
or her condition is bound by a special

duty to imbue and perfect the order of

temporal affairs with the spirit of the
gospel; they thus give witness to Christ
in a special way in carrying out those
affairs and in exercising secular duties.
2) To access and teach Christian
doctrine and sacred sciences: Can.229
1. Lay persons are bound by the
obligation and possess the right to
acquire a knowledge of Christian
doctrine adapted to their capacity and
condition so that they can live in accord
with that doctrine, announce it, defend
it when necessary, and be enabled to
assume their role in exercising the
apostolate.
2. Lay persons also possess the right
to acquire that deeper knowledge of
the sacred sciences which are taught
in ecclesiastical universities or faculties
or in institutes of religious sciences
by attending classes and obtaining
academic degrees.
3. Likewise, the prescriptions as to
the required suitability having been
observed, lay persons are capable of
receiving from legitimate ecclesiastical
authority a mandate to teach the sacred
sciences.
3) To educate ones children:
Can.226, 2. Because they have given
life to their children, parents have a most
serious obligation and enjoy the right to
educate them; therefore Christian parents
are especially to care for the Christian
education of their children according to
the teaching handed on by the Church.
Empowering the Laity for Politics
The proper sphere of lay empowerment is relative to their mission to be
leaven in the world, ordering temporal
affairs according to the Gospel. Part
of this vast sphere of action for the
empowered laity is politics and the
electoral exercise.
To the extent that the lay faithful
are given the adequate doctrinal and
spiritual formation, the support of an
intense sacramental life, and a healthy
autonomy to fulfill their role in the
world responsibly, they are by that same
measure empowered to be what they
are: Christian lay men and women, and
not lay ministers or brothers, and much
less secularized versions of religious men
and women.
Only then shall we avoid the kind
of quandary that many good Catholics
find themselves in this election: of not
finding a single candidate for the capital offices who embodies, if not all the
Christian principles, at least the most
important ones of respect for human
life (from conception to natural death),
respect for the dignity of marriage as the
monogamous and indissoluble union
between a man and a woman for mutual
help and the procreation and upbringing of children, and support for the
family as the natural cell of society, all
within the rule of law.
As a friend of mine said years ago, why
cant we have the best President and not
the least worst? Paraphrasing the Apostle
to the Gentiles, the world is groaning for
the revelation of the sons of God! Christian lay men and women need to be
empowered to be themselves: to be
Christ in the middle of the world!

Mass of Our Lady of Perpetual Help

Q: June 27 is the feast day of
Our Lady of Perpetual Help
(OLPH), whose miraculous
icon is enshrined in Rome.
Copies of the icon are found
in almost every Catholic parish throughout the world, and
many parishes practice the
weekly OLPH devotions. The
Redemptorists, who are the
custodians of the icon, have a
proper Mass of OLPH, which
is used on June 27 in their
parishes and communities.
This Mass is found in their
liturgical supplement and is
not included in the Collection of Masses of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. There are other
parishes, either diocesan or
staffed by other religious orders, which are under the patronage of OLPH or practice
the weekly OLPH devotions.
Would it permissible for these
parishes to use the proper
Mass of OLPH on June 27
as well? G.L., Madera,
California
A: This is quite a thorny question from the legal point of
view. Indeed, while the question of the celebration of the
blesseds and saints has been
clarified, that of Masses for
universally popular Marian
invocations is not so clear.

It must also be pointed out

that this celebration coincides
with the optional memorial of

However, if there is a particular devotion to this title in a

particular community, it could

example, the collect of formula

No. 6 in the Common of the
BVM says, May the venerable
intercession of Blessed Mary ever
Virgin come to our aid, we pray
O Lord, and free us from every
danger, so that we may rejoice in
your peace .
It is a different question as to
whether the proper formulas
approved for the Redemptorists

Mary. The Collection seeks to

promote celebrations that are
marked by sound doctrine, the
rich variety of their themes, and
their rightful commemoration
of the saving deeds that the
Lord God has accomplished in
the Blessed Virgin in view of
the mystery of Christ and the
Church.
20. The Collection of Masses

If the formulas of an approved

Marian Mass are not intimately
tied to the spirituality of a
particular institute, it would not
seem logical that
it could be prayed in a church
of the institute.

St. Cyril of Alexandria in the

universal calendar and is not
even included in the calendar of
the Diocese of Rome.

always be celebrated as a votive

Mass using one of the most appropriate Masses of the Blessed
Virgin found in the missal. For

may be adopted universally.

The Introduction to the Collection of Masses of the Blessed
Virgin Mary says the following:
19. The Collection of Masses
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, approved by Pope John Paul II and
promulgated by the Congregation for Divine Worship, has a
specific purpose with regard to
the cultus of the Blessed Virgin

is made up principally of the

texts for Marian Masses that
are found in the propers of the
particular Churches or of religious institutes or in The Roman
Missal.
21. The Collection of Masses
is intended for: Marian shrines
where Masses of the Blessed
Virgin Mary are celebrated frequently, in accord with the provi-

sions to be indicated in nos.

29-33; ecclesial communities
that on the Saturdays in Ordinary Time desire to celebrate
a Mass of the Blessed Virgin,
in accord with the provision
to be indicated in no. 34. As
will be pointed out in no.
37, use of the Collection of
Masses is permitted on days
on which, according to the
General Instruction of the
Roman Missal, the Priest is
free to choose which Mass he
will celebrate.
22. Promulgation of the
Collection of Masses of the
Blessed Virgin Mary introduces no change in the General Roman Calendar, issued
21 March 1969, in The Roman Missal, second editio
typica, issued 27 March 1975,
in the Lectionary for Mass,
second editio typica, issued
21 January 1981, or in the
system of rubrics currently
in force.
These norms indicate that
they do not contain all possible Masses of particular
Churches or of religious institutes. A selection has been
made and every selection
means a renunciation. Thus
there is no formula for Our
Lady of Perpetual Help yet
Perpetual Help, B7

CBCP Monitor

FEATURES B3

May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

Catechism on the Church and Politics

(An excerpt of a special catechism issued by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines
in February 1998 for catechists, diocesan/parish political educators, or other pastoral workers in
forming the Christian political consciousness of people, especially at the grassroots level.)
PART II: the relationship
between Church, State, and
politics

Is not the Churchs involvement

i n p o l i t i c s p o l i t i c a l
interference?
Political interference takes
place when the Church involves
itself in politics in a way that
is not justified by her mission

human person. Precisely because

of this unity of mission, Church
and State have to collaborate
with each other.
13. What is the mission of the
Church regarding the political
order?
The Church has the duty of
proclaiming the Gospel to all
creation (Mk. 16:15) and to
restore all things under Christ
(Eph. 1:10). This means that the

15. What vision of human

dignity and solidarity does the
Church contribute?
The Church contributes to the
political order her vision of the
dignity of the person revealed in
all its fullness in the mystery of
the Incarnate Word (CA, 47).
This vision includes the truth:
that the human person has been
created unto the image of God
and has an eternal destiny of
unending happiness with God;

Roy Lagarde

What is the basis for the

Churchs mission in politics?
The main reasons why the
Church has a mission in politics
are the following:
First, because politics has a
moral dimension. Politics is a
human activity. It may hurt or
benefit people. It can lead to

law and the moral law. Politics

has moral and religious dimensions. Therefore, the Church has
to be involved in the political
world.

or when such involvement is

against the Constitution. But the
mission of the Church requires
her, for instance, to denounce
political attitudes, behavior and
structures that run counter to
the Gospel and to the Reign of
God or that militate against the
common good and the integral

Gospel must influence every

phase of life, every stratum of
society (PEPP, p. 26), including
the political sphere. In fact it is
the duty of every Christianto
transform politics by the Gospel.
The relationship of the Church
to the State has been described
by the Philippine Bishops as

that, having fallen into sin,

the human person has been redeemed by God and absolutely
needs Gods grace for salvation;
that Jesus Christ is God-mademan who shows by his human
life how the human person must
live and serve; that the equal dignity of all human beings brings

17. Must citizens obey political

authority?
Every human community
needs authority to govern it. It
is necessary for the common
good and the unity of the State.
It is required by the moral order
and comes from God. When
legitimately constituted authority is exercised within the limits
of its competence and in accord
with the moral law, it must be
respected and obeyed (PEPP, p.
37). This is why the Scriptures
enjoin obedience to political
authority. Let every person be
subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority
except from God, and those that
exist have been instituted by
God. Therefore he who resists
the authorities resists what God
has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment (Rom.
13:1-2; cf. Pt. 2: 13-17).
18. Can citizens disobey political authority?
While citizens are bound in
conscience to obey political
authority, they are not obliged
to obey commands that are
morally wrong. Political authority must not be used contrary
to the moral law. This is why
Vatican II says: It is legitimate
for them (citizens) to defend
their own rights and those of
their fellow citizens against
abuses of this authority within
the limits of the natural law and
the law of the Gospel. This is
especially true when citizens are
under the oppression of a public
authority which oversteps its
competence (GS, 74). St. Peter
himself disobeyed the order of
authorities and said We must
obey God rather than men (Acts
4:19). This is the principle that

No one political option can fully carry out the Gospel mandate
of renewing the political order or of serving the common good.
No one political party or platform or set of candidates
can exclusively claim the name Catholic.
salvation of the human person,
especially of the poor. Also in
accord with her mission is for the
Church to issue moral guidelines
regarding the qualifications of
political candidates. It would
be political interference if the
Church were to be involved in
way that is not in keeping with
her mission to evangelize, or if
the Church were to violate the
Constitutional mandate of separation of Church and State.

one of critical collaboration or

critical solidarity.

them into solidarity in mutual

love, justice, and service.

14. What is the meaning of

critical collaboration or
critical solidarity?
Critical collaboration or critical solidarity means that the
Church is one with the State in
promoting the common good.
Cooperation, solidarityposi-

16. What does solidarity

mean?
Solidarity is a moral and social
virtue. It is not a mere spirit of
camaraderie or team spirit or
some vague feeling of compassion or good will. Rather, it is
firm and persevering determi-

tive supporthas to be given by

the Church to whatever the State
may be doing for the common
good in accordance with the
Gospel. But the church must
have a critical sense in providing
such collaboration. It should denounce whatever is not in accord
with the Gospel.

nation to commit oneself to the

common good, i.e., to the good
of all and of each individual
because we are really responsible
for all (SRS, 38). It includes a
love of preference for the poor,
hence, solidarity with the poor.
It is a commitment to achieve
social justice, development and

impelled the Filipino people to

resist the Marcos dictatorship
and achieve liberation through
the peaceful 1986 EDSA Revolution.
19. Is it true that the Church
can work with any form of
political regime?
The measure of the Churchs
collaboration with a political

the light of the Gospel and the

Kingdom of God, the Church
can work with any political regime as long as her basic freedom
to accomplish her divine mission
and to avail of resources for this
purpose are not suppressed. But
the Church cannot encourage
the formation of narrow ruling
groups which usurp the power of
the State for individual interests
or for ideological ends (CA, 46).
20. What does the church
expect of politics in view of
integral development?
For the integral development
of the human person and of all
persons, the Church expects
politics to create structures of
participation and shared responsibility (CA, 46), where the
basic freedoms and aspirations of
individuals are given full scope to
develop and grow. For example,
the Church would expect the
political community to remove
or at least reduce excessive socioeconomic inequalities among its
citizens. The Church would also
expect that electoral processes be
truly democratic and fair. Politics
must, therefore, not be a tool
for the advancement of only a
privileged few.
PART III: The Role of the
Clergy, Religious and Laity in
Politics
21. What are the roles of Clergy, Religious and laity with
regard to partisan politics?
Traditional wisdom and
general common sense, with
support from Canon Law
(or the Law of the Church),
assign specific roles for different members of the Church.
PCP-II pointed out these roles.
The Churchs competence in
passing moral judgments even
in matters political has been
traditionally interpreted as
pertaining to the clergy. Negatively put, the clergy can teach
moral doctrines covering politics but cannot actively involve
themselves in partisan politics.
In practice, religious men and
women are also included in
this prohibition (PCP-II,
340). But certainly lay people
have competence in active and
direct partisan politics (PCPII, 341). This general rule is
certainly not rigid, because
lay people themselves have a
teaching role regarding politics,
especially in their witnessing
to gospel values in the world
of politics. Concretely, priests,
religious men and women, and
lay people, i.e., the Church
must be involved in the area of
politics when Gospel values are
at stake (PCP-II, 344).

11. What does separation of

Church and State mean?
Separation of Church and
State is strictly defined in the
1987 Philippine Constitution to
refer to two points: (1) that no
religion may be established as the
official religion of the State; and
(2) that the State may not favor
one religion over others. At the
same time, the State shall forever
allow the free exercise and enjoyment of religion and shall not
require any religious test for the
exercise of civil or political rights
(see 1987 Philippine Constitution). The first point above is
called the non-establishment
clause.
To be noted is the fact that
nowhere does the Constitution
prohibit Clergy and Religious
from partisan politics. What
prohibits them from active involvement in partisan politics
is the Churchs own laws and
traditional wisdom.
12. But should not Church and
State collaborate with each
other?
Yes, because Church and State
both work for the common good
and for the good of every person.
They have to respect each others
legitimate independence or autonomy and each others way of
achieving the common good and
the total development of every

Roy Lagarde

grace or to sin.
Second, because the Gospel
and the Kingdom of God call
the Church to political involvement. To proclaim the gospel to
all creation necessarily includes
evangelizing the political world.
Moreover, at the center of Jesus
mission is the proclaiming of
the Kingdom of God. But the
Kingdom of God calls us to
repentance and renewal (Mk.
1:15). This call to renewal is
addressed likewise to the political field.
Third, because the mission of
the Church of integral salvation
involves the political sphere. Integral salvation is the salvation of
the total person, soul and body,
spiritual and temporal. This is
why Jesus not only forgave sins
but also healed people from sickness. The Church must likewise
bring the healing grace of salvation to the temporal, including
political, sphere.

Are there other reasons why

the Church must be involved
in politics?
Yes, there are. Another reason
is because salvation of the human person is from personal
and social sin. We know that
in the political field, social sins
unfortunately abound, such
as graft and corruption, dirty
politics of guns, goons, and
gold, deceit and unprincipled
compromises, politics of greed.
In the mind of the Church,
systems where such social sins
have been imbedded through
constant practice are structures
of sin or structures of injustice.
Still another reason is because
the Church has an Option for
the Poor. In the Philippines,
politics is heavily tilted against
the poor. The poor often become
in a real sense voiceless and powerless. Laws are often passed that
merely support vested interests
rather than promote the common good of all.
Finally, because John Paul II
said that the concrete human
being living in history is the
way for the Church (RH, 14;
CA, 53-54). The temporal and
spiritual development of the
total human person is the way
by which the Church accomplishes the mission to proclaim
the Gospel. We know very well
that politics can dehumanize
the human person and entrap
the person in sinful behavior or
structures.
In short, politics cannot claim
to be above or outside the natural

peace - and to achieve these by

peaceful means and by respecting fundamental human rights.
Solidarity extends to the level of
relations between nations.

regime is the higher law of the

Gospel and the Kingdom of
God. The citizens of the State
have the power of choosing the
kind of political regime (e.g.,
democratic or authoritarian,
presidential or parliamentary)
they wish for themselves to attain
the common good (GS, 74). In

22. Why should priests, religious men and women refrain

from involvement in partisan
politics?
As we have seen, the prohibition is not because of any Philippine constitutional provision. But
the Church prohibits Clergy and
Politics, B7

B4 PASTORAL CONCERNS

May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

CBCP Monitor

Nirva Delacruz

Circular Letter on the 2016 Elections

BELOVED People of God in the Archdiocese of Cotabato:
Greetings of peace in the Lord!
You may have already chosen your
candidates. Let me stir your conscience.
As chief religious Shepherd of the
Archdiocese, my duty is to help your
conscience in choosing your candidates
in accordance with the moralsocial
principles of the Church. I do so in the
light of the social situation in our country
and our region.
The change that we need is a radical
change. I speak of a profound change
in mind, behavior, and values. Sadly a
candidate who promises change could
have the same values and behavior that
require change.
Therefore, every voter who treasures
conscience as God-given has to answer
the following questions:
1. Is the candidate a person of moral
integrity?
Corruption is a plague in our country.
Billions of pesos go into private pockets
every year instead of being spent to uplift the poor. Select a candidate that is
not tainted by corruption, unexplained
wealth and properties, and enrichment
in office.
2. Does the candidate respect and
defend the right to life?
Life is most sacred, a very precious gift
of God. The right to life includes the

right of the unborn, of the terminally

ill, of innocent people, even of suspected
or convicted criminals, of the old and
the dying. The immoral termination of
the life of the unborn and of innocent
people, the termination of life even of
suspected criminals in utter disregard of
due process, are very serious violations.
Select a candidate who by belief and
practice demonstrates support for the
right to life.
3. Does the candidate demonstrate
respect for and fidelity to his or her faith?
Fidelity to the teachings on ones faith
is the mark of a God-fearing person. It is
illustrated by fidelity to ones spouse as
taught by our faith, respect for religious
leaders, fidelity to the commandments of
honoring Gods name, to the commandments against stealing and dishonesty or
against sexual immorality. Select a candidate who by word and deed is faithful
to the dictates of his faith.
4. Does the candidate have an option
for the poor?
This is a treasured teaching of the
Catholic faith. It is expressed in various ways by other religions. The great
majority of our people are poor. Will
the candidate help harnessas a prioritythe resources of government for
the integral development of the poor,
the needy, and the deprived? Will the

Election, B7

On Bishop Labayen, Founder of CBCP-NASSA

from the National Director
Bishop Labayen
and the FABC

Bishop Emeritus Julio Xavier Labayen, OCD, DD Facebook page

(This piece is lifted from the

website of the Federation of
Asian Bishops Conferences.)

FIFTY years ago in 1966, Bishop

Julio Xavier L. Labayen, OCD,
founded the National Secretariat
for Social Action (NASSA) as
a secretariat of the Episcopal
Commission on Social Action,
Justice and Peace (ECSA-JP) of
the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP),
and led it as National Director
for the first 15 years until 1982.
CBCP-NASSA is the social action arm of the CBCP.
He truly lived his faith and
prayer, and embodied the vision
of the Church of the Poor. He
was best remembered for his
pro-active witness and promotion of the Social Teaching of
the Church. He was known
as the strong voice of the poor
and marginalized, serving the
cause of the poor in the field
of social action. Particularly,
during Martial Law (19721986), he was among the figures
that conscientized the people
about the evil of dictatorship,
remained strong in exposing
and denouncing human rights
abuses, a prophetic voice for a
true land reform and in promoting the equitable share of
wealth of the nation; he was
instrumental in publishing the
IMPACT magazine amidst
the suppressed media. During
the Arroyo administration, his
intervention was visible in all
national issues and problems
besetting the countryand
was even among those arrested
for allegedly supporting the
mutineers who held out at a
hotel in Makati City calling
for withdrawal of support for
Arroyo in 2007.
He was also pioneer of the Ba-

sic Christian Community-Community Organizing (BCC-CO)

which was eventually re-named
Basic Ecclesial Community
(BEC) as the thrust of the Philippine Catholic Church, and
remained steadfast in truly empowering the lay people in both
the governance of the Church as
well as in the celebration of the
sacraments.
His influence did not remain in the Philippines, but
throughout Asia: he was the
Chairman of the Federation of
Asian Bishops Conferences Of-

Christian identity.
Bishop Labayen was installed
Bishop of Prelature of Infanta
from 1966 to 2003 and wellloved by the people who have
known him from his priestly
ministry since 1959. After his
retirement in 2003, Bishop Labayen did not stop his struggle
for the promotion of a spirituality that lived in the humanity
of each person, particularly the
poor.
These are the works and legacy
he has left us, which I humbly feel the responsibility to

Bishop Labayen is an icon in

what it means to be a servantleader patterned after Jesus. We
are grateful for his person and
ministry and his Big Heart!
fice for Human Development
(FABC-OHD) from its beginning in 1971 to 1978. Under
his leadership, Bishop Labayen
set the Philippines as example of
social action in Asia, through the
work of NASSA. His contemporaries commended NASSA for
serving wide range of aspects of
the human condition, helping
man live the reality of his true
dignity as son of God; he was
recognized for his dedicated
services and programs for the
poor, strong voice against human
rights abuses, as well as training
centers for Asian Church leaders, and for leading the dynamic
NASSA during the Martial Law,
while keeping faithful to its

continue: first as his successor

as Bishop of Prelature of Infanta (2003-2012), and now, at
CBCP-NASSA the dynamic
Catholic organization that my senior confrere has founded, where
I have been serving as National
Director since 2013.
On a more personal note,
Bishop Labayen is first and foremost a Carmelite we belong
to the same congregation, OCD
- Order of Discalced Carmelites
and for years, I have known
him to have lived, in the midst
of his many activities, the Carmelite spirit of deep prayer and
love for the Word of God and the
Blessed Mother. As a Pastor, he
had a big heart towards the weak,

the vulnerable and especially

towards priests in/with personal
difficulties. As a lover of Justice
and Peace, he committed his
life to proclaim the Justice and
Peace that Jesus Christ lived and
died for.
Indeed, Bishop Labayen is
an icon in what it means to be
a servant-leader patterned after
Jesus. We are grateful for his
person and ministry and his
Big Heart! We are also grateful
for his family who has nurtured
and supported him so much that
we are able to share his love and
service.
The legacy he leaves us in
CBCP-NASSA, and many other
organizations he founded and
supported, is indeed too much to
fill alone - and that is why, not
to decentralize my responsibility
in NASSA, we who have been
touched by him, his spirit and
passion, inspired by his dedication and service and in any way
benefitted from his work in
justice and peace directly or indirectly, are also invited and called
to continue his mission in good
works of dedicated service and
grow in our love for the Word
of God in prayer, which can
be traced as the source or root
cause of the great service he was
able to provide to proclaim and
practice the Justice and Peace of
Christ.
May he rest in Peace!
+ ROL ANDO J. TRIA
TIRONA, OCD, DD
National Director
CBCP-National Secretariat for
Social Action, Justice and Peace
(CBCP-NASSA)

IN 1965, 150 Catholic priests met in Hong Kong for the

Priests Institute of Social Action (PISA). The aim of this
seminar was to bring new dimensions into the social action
apostolate for the Church in Asia. This was the result of the
growing consciousness which the Church that we have a
message for the world of Asia undergoing drastic changes.
Four years later, June 1969, forty bishops, priests and
laymen from Asia gathered at the Jesuit House in Baguio,
Philippines. It was an important meeting for here the concept of an Asian wide social action office was first discussed.
While PISA in Hong Kong was a training seminar, the
Baguio meeting was a gathering of social action veterans
coming together to exchange experiences and to find better
ways of working and cooperating with one another.
During the meeting, the nine bishops present met informally and expressed the need for keeping an open line of
communications among themselves with and the various
national Episcopal commissions. They felt a secretariat with
a chairman and a full-time secretary would be useful. They
discussed this with the larger body and eventually decided to
have the office in Manila under Bishop Julio Xavier Labayen
and Father Horacio Dela Costa as chairman and secretary
respectively.
The year was 1970the beginning of a decade for the
emerging Asian Church. It was an historic occasion, in
November 1970, when for a first time a pontiff would set
foot in the Philippines, the only Catholic country in Asia.
Plans were made already in the air to organize a Bishops
conference of Asia similar to the Bishops Conference of
Latin America. But it has to be something much more
humblea federation of bishops conferences, a forum to
exchange experiences and be enriched by the exchange - it
was to be a structure to enable bishops of Asia to know
each other.
What drew them together to gather around the visiting
pontiff, Pope John Paul VI, is the earnest desire to become
a genuine Asian Church. The Church that must become
the Church of the poor because the majority of the people
of Asia are poor.
In establishing the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC), the bishops provided for a central committee
consisting of the president or each national conference, and
a standing committee which would take charge of the dayto-day work. These two committees were given assignment
of coordinating and assisting in almost all matters of Church
interest, although the concerns of Justice and Development
were given a special priority.
On November 28, 1970, Cardinal Darmosurmono of
Indonesia, Bishop Hsu of Hongkong, Bishop Labayen and
Fr. De La Costa met with representative of Miserior to
determine how the Asian office they had planned at Baguio
the year before could be integrated into the new plan of
the Asian Bishops. They decided to leave it to the Central
Committee, which was scheduled to meet in Hongkong in
March 1971.
The Bishops decided to accept the office described in
Baguio, in December 1971, as their own Office for Human
Development (OHD), with one important change: it would
be at the service of all Asia, where the original concept had
in mind only east and south east Asia.
During its years of existence, the Office of Human Development continue the process of dialogue among themselves
and with the poor. The following programmes will best
describe the offices contribution to the Church in Asia.
(Source: FABC)

CBCP Monitor

STATEMENTS B5

May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

Communication and Mercy: A Fruitful Encounter

Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for the 50th World Communications Day
mercy is not strained. It droppeth as
the gentle rain from heaven upon the
place beneath. It is twice blessed: it
blesseth him that gives and him that
takes (The Merchant of Venice, Act
IV, Scene I).
Our political and diplomatic language would do well to be inspired by
mercy, which never loses hope. I ask
those with institutional and political
responsibility, and those charged with
forming public opinion, to remain especially attentive to the way they speak
of those who think or act differently or
those who may have made mistakes. It
is easy to yield to the temptation to exploit such situations to stoke the flames
of mistrust, fear and hatred. Instead,

judge individuals, since only God can

see into the depths of their hearts. It
is our task to admonish those who err
and to denounce the evil and injustice
of certain ways of acting, for the sake
of setting victims free and raising up
those who have fallen. The Gospel of
John tells us that the truth will make
you free (Jn 8:32). The truth is ultimately Christ himself, whose gentle

parents loved us and valued us for who

we are more than for our abilities and
achievements. Parents naturally want
the best for their children, but that love
is never dependent on their meeting
certain conditions. The family home is
one place where we are always welcome
(cf. Lk 15:11-32). I would like to encourage everyone to see society not as
a forum where strangers compete and

mercy is the yardstick for measuring

the way we proclaim the truth and
condemn injustice. Our primary task
is to uphold the truth with love (cf.
Eph 4:15). Only words spoken with
love and accompanied by meekness
and mercy can touch our sinful hearts.
Harsh and moralistic words and actions risk further alienating those
whom we wish to lead to conversion
and freedom, reinforcing their sense of
rejection and defensiveness.
Some feel that a vision of society
rooted in mercy is hopelessly idealistic
or excessively indulgent. But let us
try and recall our first experience of
relationships, within our families. Our

try to come out on top, but above all

as a home or a family, where the door
is always open and where everyone
feels welcome.
For this to happen, we must first
listen. Communicating means sharing, and sharing demands listening
and acceptance. Listening is much
more than simply hearing. Hearing is
about receiving information, while listening is about communication, and
calls for closeness. Listening allows
us to get things right, and not simply
to be passive onlookers, users or consumers. Listening also means being
able to share questions and doubts,
to journey side by side, to banish all

The words of
Christians ought
to be a constant
encouragement
to communion
and, even in
those cases where
they must firmly
condemn evil,
they should never
try to rupture
relationships and
communication.
courage is needed to guide people
towards processes of reconciliation. It
is precisely such positive and creative
boldness which offers real solutions to
ancient conflicts and the opportunity
to build lasting peace. Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they will be called
children of God (Mt 5:7-9)
How I wish that our own way of
communicating, as well as our service
as pastors of the Church, may never
suggest a prideful and triumphant
superiority over an enemy, or demean
those whom the world considers
lost and easily discarded. Mercy can
help mitigate lifes troubles and offer
warmth to those who have known
only the coldness of judgment. May
our way of communicating help to
overcome the mindset that neatly
separates sinners from the righteous.
We can and we must judge situations
of sinsuch as violence, corruption
and exploitationbut we may not

CNA

DEAR Brothers and Sisters,

The Holy Year of Mercy invites all
of us to reflect on the relationship
between communication and mercy.
The Church, in union with Christ,
the living incarnation of the Father of
Mercies, is called to practice mercy as
the distinctive trait of all that she is
and does. What we say and how we say
it, our every word and gesture, ought
to express Gods compassion, tenderness and forgiveness for all. Love, by
its nature, is communication; it leads
to openness and sharing. If our hearts
and actions are inspired by charity, by
divine love, then our communication
will be touched by Gods own power.
As sons and daughters of God, we are
called to communicate with everyone,
without exception. In a particular way,
the Churchs words and actions are
all meant to convey mercy, to touch
peoples hearts and to sustain them
on their journey to that fullness of
life which Jesus Christ was sent by the
Father to bring to all. This means that
we ourselves must be willing to accept
the warmth of Mother Church and to
share that warmth with others, so that
Jesus may be known and loved. That
warmth is what gives substance to the
word of faith; by our preaching and
witness, it ignites the spark which
gives them life.
Communication has the power to
build bridges, to enable encounter and
inclusion, and thus to enrich society.
How beautiful it is when people select
their words and actions with care, in
the effort to avoid misunderstandings, to heal wounded memories and
to build peace and harmony. Words
can build bridges between individuals
and within families, social groups and
peoples. This is possible both in the
material world and the digital world.
Our words and actions should be such
as to help us all escape the vicious
circles of condemnation and vengeance
which continue to ensnare individuals
and nations, encouraging expressions
of hatred. The words of Christians
ought to be a constant encouragement
to communion and, even in those cases
where they must firmly condemn evil,
they should never try to rupture relationships and communication.
For this reason, I would like to invite
all people of good will to rediscover
the power of mercy to heal wounded
relationships and to restore peace and
harmony to families and communities.
All of us know how many ways ancient
wounds and lingering resentments can
entrap individuals and stand in the way
of communication and reconciliation.
The same holds true for relationships
between peoples. In every case, mercy
is able to create a new kind of speech
and dialogue. Shakespeare put it eloquently when he said: The quality of

claims to absolute power and to put

our abilities and gifts at the service of
the common good.
Listening is never easy. Many times
it is easier to play deaf. Listening
means paying attention, wanting to
understand, to value, to respect and
to ponder what the other person says.
It involves a sort of martyrdom or selfsacrifice, as we try to imitate Moses
before the burning bush: we have to
remove our sandals when standing on
the holy ground of our encounter
with the one who speaks to me (cf. Ex
3:5). Knowing how to listen is an immense grace, it is a gift which we need
to ask for and then make every effort
to practice.
Emails, text messages, social networks and chats can also be fully human forms of communication. It is not
technology which determines whether
or not communication is authentic,
but rather the human heart and our
capacity to use wisely the means at
our disposal. Social networks can
facilitate relationships and promote
the good of society, but they can also
lead to further polarization and division between individuals and groups.
The digital world is a public square,
a meeting-place where we can either
encourage or demean one another,
engage in a meaningful discussion or
unfair attacks. I pray that this Jubilee
Year, lived in mercy, may open us to
even more fervent dialogue so that we
might know and understand one another better; and that it may eliminate
every form of closed-mindedness and
disrespect, and drive out every form of
violence and discrimination (Misericordiae Vultus, 23). The internet can
help us to be better citizens. Access to
digital networks entails a responsibility
for our neighbour whom we do not see
but who is nonetheless real and has a
dignity which must be respected. The
internet can be used wisely to build a
society which is healthy and open to
sharing.
Communication, wherever and
however it takes place, has opened up
broader horizons for many people.
This is a gift of God which involves
a great responsibility. I like to refer
to this power of communication as
closeness. The encounter between
communication and mercy will be
fruitful to the degree that it generates a
closeness which cares, comforts, heals,
accompanies and celebrates. In a broken, fragmented and polarized world,
to communicate with mercy means to
help create a healthy, free and fraternal
closeness between the children of God
and all our brothers and sisters in the
one human family.
From the Vatican, 24 January 2016
Francis

Message of His Holiness Pope Francis

delivered during his visit to the Earth Village on
International Earth Day 2016
Rome, Villa Borghese, April 24, 2016
AS I was listening to you
speak, two images came to
mind: the desert and the forest. I thought: these people,
all of you, take a desert and
transform it into a forest.
They go wherever a desert
is, where there is no hope,
and do things that make this
desert become a forest. A
forest is full of trees, it is full
of green, too disorganized,
but such is life! And changing from desert to forest is
a beautiful job that you do.
You transform deserts into
forests! Then one can see how
certain things of the forest
can be regulated.... But there
is life there, here there is not:
in the desert there is death.
So many deserts in the
cities, so many deserts in
the lives of people who have
no future, because there is
alwaysand I underline
a word said herethere is
always prejudice, fear. And
these people must live and die
in the desert, in the city. You
perform a miracle with your
work of changing desert into
forest: go forward like this.
What is your plan? I dont
know.... Let us move closer
and see what we can do. This
is life! Because life has to be

taken as it comes. It is like the

goalkeeper in a soccer match:
catch the ball from wherever
they kick it... it comes from here,
from there.... We must not be
afraid of life, do not be afraid
of conflicts. Someone once told
meI dont know if its true, if
someone wants they can check, I
havent checkedthat the word
conflict in Chinese is made
of two symbols: a symbol that
means risk and another that
means opportunity. Conflict,
its true, is a risk but it is also an
opportunity.
We can take conflict as something to move away from: No,
there is conflict there, I stay
away. We Christians are well
aware of what the Levite did,
what the priest did, with the
poor man who fell on the road.
They made their way so as not
to see, so as not to get close (cf.
Lk 10:30-37). One who does
not risk can never approach
reality: to know reality, but also
to know it with ones heart, it
is necessary to get close. Getting close is a risk, but also an
opportunity: for me and for
the person I move close to. For
me and for the community I
move close to. I think of the
testimony you have given, for
example, in the prison, with

all your work. Conflict: never,

never, ever turn away so as not
to see conflict. Conflicts must
be taken on, evils must be taken
on in order to resolve them.
The desert is appalling, both
the one that is in all our hearts,
and the one that is in the city, in
the peripheries, it is something
appalling. In the desert that
exists in protected neighborhoods.... It is appalling, but

instruments there with them,

but they did not have joy because they were captives in a
foreign land (cf. Ps 137[136]).
But when they were set free, the
Psalm says, incredulous, our
mouth was filled with laughter. Thus in this passage from
desert to forest, to life, there is
laughter.
Here is a homework assignment for you: one day look at

This is life! Because life has

to be taken as it comes. It is
like the goalkeeper in a soccer
match: catch the ball from
wherever they kick it.
there is also desert there. We
must not be afraid to go into
the desert in order to transform
it into a forest; there is exuberant life, and one can go to dry
many tears so that everyone
may smile.
It makes me think of the
Psalm of the people of Israel,
when they were held captive
in Babylon, and they said: We
cannot sing our songs, for we
are in a foreign land. They had

peoples faces as you go along

the street. They are worried,
each one is closed in on himself,
a smile is missing, tenderness is
missing, in other words, social
friendship, this social friendship is missing. Where there
is no social friendship there
is always hatred, war. We are
experiencing a piecemeal third
world war, everywhere. Look
at the maps of the world and
you will see this. Instead, often

times social friendship must be

made with forgivenessthe
first wordwith forgiveness.
So often it is made by approaching: I approach that problem,
that conflict, that difficulty, as
we heard that these brave boys
and girls have done in gambling
places and so many people lose
everything, everything. In Buenos Aires I saw elderly women
who went to the bank to get
their pension and then straight
to the casino, immediately!
Approach the area of conflict.
These [young people] go, they
approach. Move closer....
There is also another thing that
has to do with play, with sport
and also with art: gratuitousness.
Social friendship is free, and
this wisdom of gratuitousness is
learned, it is learned: with play,
with sport, with art, with the
joy of being together, by getting
close.... Gratuitousness is a word
that must not be forgotten in this
world, where it seems that unless
you pay you cant live, where the
person, man and woman, that
God created precisely at the centre of the world, in order to also
be at the centre of the economy,
has been pushed out and at the
centre we have a fine god, the
god of money. Today at the centre
of the world there is the money

god and those who are able

to get close and worship this
god approach, and those who
cannot end up hungry, sick,
exploited.... Think about the
exploitation of children, of
young people.
Gratuitousness is the key
word. Gratuitousness allows
me to give my life just as it
is, in order to go with others
and make this desert become
a forest. Gratuitousness, this
is a beautiful thing.
And forgiveness too, forgiving. Because with forgiveness, rancour, resentment
move away. And then always
build; do not destroy, build.
Here, these are the things
that come to my mind. How
is this done? Simply with the
awareness that we all have
something in common, we
are all human. And in this
humanity let us come closer
in order to work together.
But I am of this religion,
of that one.... It doesnt
matter! Everyone, forward
in order to work together.
Respect each other, respect!
And this is how we will see
this miracle: the miracle of a
desert that becomes forest.
Thank you very much for
all you do! Thank you.

B6 REFLECTIONS

May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

Bishop Pat Alo

ENCOUNTERS
Heroic intimacy

The Eucharist: Christs most

precious and challenging gift

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, (C) Lk 9:11b-17

May 29, 2016

Michael Dalogdog

IT is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless (John

6:63). It is possible to acquire the courageous tenacity of
St. Peter and the apostles by the creative power of the Spirit
within us, helping us to focus on the heroic following of Jesus our Redeemer and Model. It was the Spirit sent by Jesus
who miraculously transformed the timid, fearful apostles to
courageous proclaimers and witnesses of the Good News of
the Risen Lord.
As baptized and confirmed Catholics, we are wont to
witness to the mission of our Redeemer who showed us His
unconditional Love beyond measure, to the shedding of His
Blood as sacrifice in payment for our sins, to win for us eternal
life. As the disciples drew closer to Him, we can also grow in
intimacy with this Greatest Lover of humanity by surrendering
to him our all just as popular songs nowadays put it in words
of exchange like you give your all to me; I give my all to you
but of course we mean God as you. For God is love and he
who lives in love is in God, and God in him (1 John 4:16).
Love conquers all as a saying goes. A heart that truly loves
and has given ones all to Jesus, follows the Lord day by day,
sharing the joy of this love by word and the witness of ones
daily life. When confronted with worldly opposition, we
shall be driven by the Spirit to keep on courageously, armed
with Gods love in our hearts, ready to face and conquer the
demon of darkness. Then, like St. Peter and the apostles who
withstood the threatening interrogations and orders of the
Sanhedrin to stop using the name of Jesus, we too shall boldly
declare: Better for us to obey God than men (Acts 5:28).

CBCP Monitor

Bo Sanchez

SOULFOOD

By Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB

Praise Someone Today!

THE literal meaning of the word blessing is to bow down.
When I bow down in front of someone, I give that person
value. I say to him, Youre important. And the easiest way
to do that is through praise.
When you praise the people that you love, youre actually
blessing them.
Heres my advice: Praise the members of your family at least
once a day!
Husbands, make it a habit to praise your wife.
Lets say shes fixing herself in the mirror or closing the last
button of her blouse and you happen to pass by. Stop and say,
Youre so beautiful.
Or your wife prepared your meal and you take your first bite.
Stop and say, This is delicious! Then hold her hand, look into
her eyes and say, I thank God I married you.
Wives, make it a habit to praise your husband.
When I come home from work, many times, my wife would
wrap her arms around me and tell me, Youre a great husband.
Youre a great father. And Im the luckiest girl in the world.
I receive praise from thousands of peoplemy readers, my
audience, my listeners. But for some reason, I still look for my
wife to affirm me.
Some people say, I dont have to praise my family because
they already know that I appreciate them.
Thats not true. You need to say it.
My friend Ces is almost 30.
Yet to this day, she still feels like a little girl thats still trying
to earn the praise of her parents. She feels that best is simply
not good enough.
Ces told me that the only time her parents praised her was
when she graduated cum laude in college. But before and after
that, not once did they praise her.
Today, shackled by the burden of low self-worth, Ces keeps
trying to prove herself to other people. Its creating havoc in her
relationships. Its sabotaging her success. Despite her external
success, there is so much emptiness in her. Without knowing
it, shes desperate for praise, affirmation, and love. And when
youre emotionally desperate for love, you rarely get love.
The people you love need your praise.
Praise someone today!

Ruel Aguirre

DUMELA
Lapis at Papel
SOMETIME last year, Gary Granada was invited to perform
during the pre-graduation program of a well-known university
in Los Banos, Laguna. For those who havent heard of him,
he is a singer, musician, and one of the premier composers of
the Philippines who writes songs about the environment, the
Gospel, political issues, and love. One of his award-winning
songs in the Metro Pop Song Festival is Mabuti Pa Sila. The
song has a very pleasing melody that draws the heart, attracts
one to listen to it over and over again. Try to search for the
lyrics, listen to the song, and youll understand what I mean.
However, upon reading the lyrics of the song, one notices how
it describes the sorrow, resentment, bitterness of a lonely person
who longs for someone to love but finds none. Ive heard this
song a few years back, but it struck a chord in me when it was
sung during the program I attended. A stanza of the songs goes:
Mabuti pa ang mga lapis, sinusulatan ang papel
At mas mapalad ang kamatis, mayat maya napipisil
Napakaswerte ng bayong, hawak ng aleng maganda
Di tulad kong lagi na lang nag-iisa
Mabuti pa ang mga lapis, sinusulatan ang papel. Instead
of sounding resentful or a little bit jealous, it can powerfully
speak of opportunities, chances, and blessings. During the times
when we are hit by an urge to succumb to compare ourselves
with others or perhaps when insecurity strikes, grab a lapis
(pencil) and a papel (paper) and write down as many as possible all the blessings you have, both tangible (e.g. good-paying
job, own home, family) and intangible (e.g. love from friends,
Dumela, B7

THE Second Vatican Council has called the

Eucharist the source and summit of the
Churchs life. (See Apostolic Constitution
Lumen Gentium #11.) Its preciousness is
simply unimaginable for us, frail human
beings, for the Eucharist is no less than the
Risen Christ in the fullness of his humanity
and divinity made for us food of eternal life.
The Eucharist is a wonderful GIFT to
mankind, which can find its origin only in
Christs immense love for us. Only in heaven
shall we be able to understand the preciousness of such a gift, and how fortunate we
have been to receive it as the Bread of Life
during our earthly pilgrimage toward the
Promised Land of Heaven.
The extraordinary richness of the Eucharist
can be gleaned by the fact that it links us
with the past and the future.
As a link with the past, the Eucharist
connects us with the historical Jesus.
Indeed, the Eucharist fulfills the best
promises of the Old Testament as it reveals
their full meaning and actualizes NOW the
salvation they foreshadowed. In its memorial dimension, the Eucharist is the
actualization in the present of the Sacrifice
that Jesus Christ offered once and for all
on Calvary.

It is also the actualization NOW, through

the ministry of the Church, of the gifts of
the spiritual food and drink which Jesus
offered to his disciples in the Upper Room,
but which were meant for all the believers

The Eucharist is a
wonderful GIFT to
mankind, which can
find its origin only
in Christs immense
love for us. Only in
heaven shall we be
able to understand
the preciousness of
such a gift...

munion with the Father, the Son and the

Holy Spirit. Such is the great promise which
Jesus made to all those who would believe in
him, feed on him, and live according to his
teaching and example. Hence, our sacramental Communion and adoration are constant
sources of undying hope even in the midst
of the greatest difficulties and trials.
As a foretaste and pledge of eternal life
of communion with the Triune God and
His saints in heaven, the Eucharist assures
us that heaven is not an imaginary consolation for the weaklings, but a wonderful
reality, prepared by Jesus for the brave
and the strong.
Hence, the celebration of the Eucharist is
not just a gratitude-filled commemoration
of the wonders that the Lord God did in
the course of salvation history and especially
in Jesus Christ. It is not just the enjoyment
during our earthly life of the blessings earned
for us by Jesus through his passion, death and
resurrection. It is also a hope-filled expectation of the even greater wonders He has in
store for us in the life to come, in the eternal
Jerusalem, in the Promised Land of heaven.

of all times for their journey through life.

As a link with the future, in its foreshadowing dimension the Eucharist is a
foretaste and pledge of the greater things
to come the beatifying, everlasting com-

BLURB: The Eucharist is a wonderful

GIFT to mankind, which can find its origin
only in Christs immense love for us. Only
in heaven shall we be able to understand the
preciousness of such a gift...

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of the Lord:

Reverence for the Eucharist
of Elam and his three
roy a l a l l i e s . T h a ts w h e n
Abraham got involved. One

TODAYS first reading presents of Lots men escaped and

a meeting between Abram, later pleaded with Abraham to rescue
to be named Abraham, and his nephew. Abraham pursued
someone called Melchizedek. the four kings and, with
Lets place this all in its Gods help, defeated them.
When Abraham returned
biblical context. The setting
is the area that we now call from the battle, the five other
the fertile crescent, from the kings met him to celebrate
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers his victory over their enemies.
down through Syria, Lebanon, At this point a new king is
Palestine and into Egypt. p r e s e n t e d . H i s n a m e i s
Back in the days of Abraham, Melchizedek. He is called
perhaps eighteen hundred the King of Salem, a name in
years before Christ, this was Hebrew derived from Shalom,
an area of small city-states, p e a c e . M e l c h i z e d e k i s
often ruled by petty kings, and presented not just as a King,
migrating bands of people. but as a priest of God the Most
Ab r a h a m w a s o n e o f t h e High, God, the El Shaddai,
leaders of a migrating people. the same One God whom
Only, he was different. He Abraham served. Melchizedek
had been called by God to brought out an offering of
leave his homeland of Ur in gratitude, of thanksgiving, to
Chaldea to a place where God for Abraham. The offering
the Lord would establish his is bread and wine. Abraham
chosen people. Chapters 12 r e c o g n i z e s Me l c h i z e d e ks
through 25 of the Book of holiness. He also realizes that
Genesis presents the known he owed his victory over the
history of Abraham, his battles four kings to God. He accepts
against the enemies of God Melchizedeks blessing and
and his battle to be faithful gives him a tenth of all his
to God. As we know, he is possessions. By the way, this
victorious and becomes the is the source of the biblical
father of the chosen people concept of tithing. Seeing God
a n d t h e Fa t h e r o f Fa i t h . as the source of all that we
Abrahams story enters have, we return a tenth back
into the history of the world to him.
Back to Melchizedek.
in chapter 14 with the
presentation of the great battle There is not much more to
of Siddim, the battle of the say. This is all that we know
kings, where nine kings met, about this Melchizedek. It
five against four. The four is enough. Melchizedek is a
p r e v a i l e d a n d A b r a h a ms priest and king chosen by God
nephew, Lot, who was allied with to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving
the King of Sodom, was taken for his faithful ones. The
prisoner by King Chedorlaomer sacrifice is in the form of

By Msgr. Joseph A. Pellegrino

bread and wine.

Christianity sees in
Melchizedek a foreshadowing
of Jesus Christ. Jesus, priest
and king, is the Eternal Priest
and King of Kings who offers
a sacrifice of thanksgiving
for his faithful ones in the
form of bread and wine. At the
same time, Jesus is infinitely
greater than Melchizedek in
that he is both the sacrifice and
the offering.
To day we celebrate the
Lords gift, the bread and
wine, the Eucharist. The
incident with Melchizedek
can help us come to a deeper
understanding of this mystery.
Melchizedek offered a gift
of gratitude to God. Jesuss
gift is called the Eucharist, a
name that means thanksgiving.
When we receive communion
we join the Lord in giving
thanks to God, the Most High,
for his protection of his people.
Me l c h i z e d e ks g i f t w a s
offered for those who were
faithful to God. The Eucharist
is the food that Jesus gives to
his people, his faithful ones.
It is not meant for those who
do not profess and live his
faith. It is not proper for nonbelievers or part time believers
to take this gift. It is offered
only to the faithful ones.
In the days of Melchizedek
most offerings would
consist in oxen or rams or
sheep. After the victim was
slain and offered to God, the
people would celebrate by
eating the sacrificed meat. A
great feast would therefore be
part of the celebration. But
Melchizedek offered bread

and wine. There would not

be a barbecue following his
prayers. Yet, Abraham saw in
this sacrifice an eternal gift
and valued it so much that he
gave a tenth of his belongings
to Melchizedek.
The gift of the Lord, the
Body and Blood of Christ
that we receive is the greatest
gift possible. It is His sacrifice
on the Cross made real in the
Eucharist for us to eat and
with which to be nourished.
Somehow or other, many of
us have lost the wonder and
awe, the respect and reverence,
that the Eucharist deserves.
Just consider the number
of people who cease attending
Church in the summer. They
will respond, We are good
people. We believe in God
and that is all that matters.
But the problem with their
argument is that there is no
place for Gods greatest gift,
the Eucharist, in their lives.
The awe, the respect, the
reverence for the Eucharist is
missing from their lives.
But I do not have to look
to others. There are times
that the reverence for the
Eucharist is not all it should
be in my life, as perhaps also
in yours. Too often I prepare
for Mass focusing on the homily
while not remembering that
far more important than the
homily is the reception
o f t h e Wo r d M a d e
Flesh in Communion.
Pe r h a p s , t o o o f t e n y o u
join the line to receive
communion without taking the
time to consider what you are
Eucharist, B7

CBCP Monitor

SOCIAL CONCERNS B7

May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

NASSA/Caritas Philippines

Protecting mangroves, saving lives

Gaudencio Badilla proudly shows the mangroves they recently planted in their community.

THE memory of the storm surge

caused by Typhoon Yolanda in
Barangay 46 in Lawaan, Eastern
Samar is still fresh in the mind
of Gaudencio Badilla. The water
rose up to four feet high, causing
him and his family to evacuate
to a nearby village.
Gaudencio knew very well
that flooding may happen again
in their coastal community. It
is all just a matter of time. So
he would not wait for another
storm to happen before their
community would take action.
As a barangay councilor,
Gaudencio heads the Committee on Environment that
is in charge of the mangroves
rehabilitation in their area. He
said the mangroves would help
protect them from flooding and
storm surge in the future.
So far, they have already plant-

Perpetual Help, B2

Gaudencio
knew very well
that flooding
may happen
again in
their coastal
community.
It is all just a
matter of time.
ed a total of 5,000 mangrove
seeds in 2015 through the help
of the Diocesan Commission on
Social Action Justice and Peace

of the Diocese of Borongan, and

NASSA/Caritas Philippines.
Caritas helped us, now it is
my turn to take care of these
mangroves they have given us,
he said.
Gaudencio is not only taking
care of the mangroves in their
community, he is also part of
the task force patrolling their sea.
(NASSA/Caritas Philippines
is the social action arm of the
Catholic Bishops Conference
of the Philippines. It works in
partnership with the Diocesan
Commission on Social Action Justice and Peace of the Diocese
of Borongan in implementing the
REACHPhilippines program for
Typhoon Haiyan survivors in the
province of Eastern Samar. For
more information, please visit
www.caritasphilippines.org.)

Election, B4

there is one for Our Lady Help of

Christians. Perhaps this invocation was
preferred because of its connection to
the papacy and because it is invoked as
patron of Australia, New Zealand and
New York.
The proviso of No. 22 would indicate that the general norms would
be observed. In general these norms
require the approval by the bishops
conference of any translation that is to
be used in its territory. Exceptions to this
rule are precisely those texts, and their
translations, that have been approved
directly by the Holy See for the use of
religious institutes within their houses
and churches. Although it is not to be
presumed that they can be used outside
of these contexts, they do not require
the explicit approval of the bishops
conference.
In most cases the texts refer to blesseds
and saints of the institute, and hence
they have a limited use. Occasionally
they refer to the titular feast or patron of
the institute, but then the Mass formulas
are often quite specific to its particular
spirituality and so are not suitable for
universal use.
Nevertheless, any saint in the Roman
Martyrology may be celebrated on his
or her feast day, provided there is no
other feast or obligatory memorial on
the same day. I believe it is fairly safe to
say that if the saint has a duly approved
proper collect for Mass, even though it
is obviously not in the Roman Missal,
then that saints collect can be used.
Following this logic, I think that it
should be possible to use an approved
text for a Marian title not present in the
Roman Missal but with a recognized
feast day. In this case one must always

be sure that the text used in the liturgy

is approved by the Holy See. For example, the texts of some Marian titles
are approved only in the language of
the country where Mary is venerated
under that title, and there is no original
Latin version. It is not possible to use
a private translation of the original but
one must necessarily use the common
of the Blessed Virgin.
In the present case I have only been
able to track down the specific texts of
this feast used before the reforms of the
Second Vatican Council. I am unaware
if they correspond to the actual formulas used today by the Redemptorists.
However, given that the current texts
have received the approval of the Holy
See they surely fit the bill with regards
to the doctrinal and spiritual qualities
mentioned in No. 19 above.
An unofficial translation of the texts
from before Vatican II is:
Opening prayer: Let us pray. Almighty
and merciful God, Who hast given us a
picture of Thy most blessed Mother to
venerate under the special title of Perpetual Succor, mercifully grant us to be
so fortified, among all the vicissitudes of
this wayfaring life, by the protection of the
same immaculate, ever virgin Mary, that
we may deserve to attain the rewards of
Thine everlasting redemption.
Offertory: By Thy clemency, O
Lord, and the intercession of blessed
Mary, ever a virgin, may this oblation
profit us unto eternal and also present
well-being and peace. Through our Lord
Jesus Christ Thy Son .
Prayer after communion: Let us pray.
May the august intercession of Mary,
Thy glorious Mother, ever a virgin, help
us, O Lord, that those whom it hath

Eucharist, B6

doing or whom you are receiving.

To o o f t e n p e o p l e r e c e i v e
communion and then head
for the doors to beat the parking lot
traffic.
The Solemnity of the Body and
Blood of the Lord was established in the
thir teenth centur y to promote
respect and reverence for the
Eucharist. The celebration
has retained its purpose. We need to
stop today and consider our reception of
c o m m u n i o n . We n e e d t o a s k
Go d t o re k i n d l e i n u s a n d i n

all our people the awe, the

respect, and the reverence
that is fundamental to
understanding the reality of the
sacrament of the Body and Blood of
Jesus Christ.
Melchizedek, the King of
Salem and priest of God the
Most High offered bread
and wine and blessed Abraham
for his faithfulness. And
Ab r a h a m g a v e h i m a t e n t h o f
his possessions. Abraham saw
in Melchizedek the presence

heaped with benefits it may deliver from

all peril and by her tender kindness,
make to be of one mind. Who livest
and reignest with God the Father, in
the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, For
ever and ever.
I would say that the collect, at least,
would seem to be somewhat tied to
membership of the Congregation of
the Most Holy Redeemer who are custodians of the original image in Rome.
These prayers, probably of relatively
recent composition, do not follow the
general custom of addressing liturgical
prayers to the Father and not to Christ.
If these correspond to the current
prayers, albeit in a more modern translation, they do not seem so easily transportable to parish situations beyond the
confines of the institute.
However, if the current texts are suitable, a church dedicated to Our Lady of
Perpetual Help, in which case the feast
day is a solemnity in the Church itself,
could probably use these texts.
It would probably be the same situation for a church were the image is
venerated but dedicated under some
other title if the Mass is celebrated as a
votive Mass.
After all, if the formulas of an approved Marian Mass are not intimately
tied to the spirituality of a particular
institute, it would not seem logical that
it could be prayed in a church of the
institute and be forbidden in a church
a few miles down the road especially
considering that an obscure saint of
the same institute could be legitimately
honored.
I believe this is the correct response
but must admit that the rules are somewhat obscure in this and similar cases.

candidate give more attention to the few

who have rather than to the many who
have not? Select a candidate who by deed
has demonstrated option for the poor.
5. In our context in Central and
Southern Mindanao, will the candidate
work for a just and lasting peace?
Every candidate promises to work for
peace. But consider this. The phenomenal
minoritization of the Bangsamoro in the
past 80 years in the land where they had
once exercised self-determination and sovereignty is an undisputed historical record.
Has the candidate in any way expressed his
biases and prejudices against the Bangsamoro so as to obstruct rather than promote
peace? Will he recognize and promote
Bangsamoro self-determination while
preserving national sovereignty? Select a
candidate who will be a just peacemaker.
6. Is the candidate competent to govern 100 million Filipinos and lead them
to a better life?
Study the track record of the can-

didate. Are the candidates claims to

successful governance or management
proven by the record? Does the candidate
grasp and appreciate the complexities of
a democratic structure of government,
value and protect the freedom of its
citizens? Select a candidate who does not
aspire to be the messiah but is humble as
well as respectful of others freedom and
competencies.
Beloved Faithful of the Archdiocese,
in your political choices, apply your
moral and religious values. Do not be
mesmerized by surveys and claims of
change by any means. Follow the road
of the Christian disciple, faithful to the
Lord Jesus and to the teachings of his
Church. Help heal our political culture.
Place your choices in the hands of Mary,
Our Mother and Intercessor, our Guide
on the journey to national renewal.
+ORLANDO B. QUEVEDO, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato

Dumela, B6

respect from colleagues). Dont be in a

rush, but take time to reflect. In the end,
things will unfold right before our very
eyes and well be led to conclude that
we are all greatly blessed. God always
remember what we need.
Mabuti pa ang mga lapis, sinusulatan
ang papel. Even for couples, that line can
teach us a simple yet very important and
essential lesson for married life. During
a date, instead of discussing problems
at home or with work, take the time to
remember and write down moments
of joy and fun together. It can be the
time of your marriage proposal, the
birth of your firstborn, a promotion at
work, vacations with the whole family,
the everyday hugs and kisses, and even
o f G o d w h o h a d p r o t e c t e d the times when you find his or her hand
him in battle and rewarded his holding yours. Why is it important, one
faith. Psalm 110 promised that might ask? Heres why. Every strong mara t i m e w o u l d c o m e w h e n riage has numerous moments full of joy
t h e p e o p l e w o u l d b e g i v e n a and happy events collected and saved in
Messiah who would be a priest the spouses memories. Dont we notice
i n t h e o r d e r o f Me l c h i z e d e k . that couples from failed marriages tend
Je s u s C h r i s t i s t h i s p r i e s t a n d to always remember the bitter half s
k i n g . Hi s g i f t t o h i s f a i t h f u l persons shortcomings and weaknesses?
o n e s , his g if t o f t han k s g iv in g , However, both husband and wife use
h i s E u c h a r i s t , i s t o b e their lapis and papel to write chapters
celebrated and treasured by us, upon chapters of their love story for
t h e d e s c e n d a n t s o f A b r a h a m , better or for worse, one that will only
end with their last breath. Problems will
Gods faithful people.

always find its way in the story, but those

happy moments together will always aid
the couple through rough times.
Mabuti pa ang mga lapis, sinusulatan
ang papel. The worlds culture puts a
spotlight on a persons imperfection,
inadequacy, frustration, weakness to
point out that a person is always bound
to fail. Yet, the world may always write
down mans loss but Jesus, on the other
hand, writes down all the reasons for his
victory. He erased what the world wrote
about man and used the lapis to write
beautifully His love for us straight into
eternity. This is the reason for the Easter seasonbecause Jesus wrote down
using lapis and papel His love story
not only for man in general but on each
papel with our name written on it.
How is life treating you so far? Do
you feel the weight of lifes problems on
your shoulders? Is it a struggle to always
make life better each day? My friend, get
a lapis and papel, pray, reflect, and
start to write down your story. Mabuti
pa ang mga lapis, sinusulatan ang papel
for at the end of the day, be prepared
to discover that life indeed is so full of
chances and opportunities that make our
life exciting .
Mabuti na lang talaga may lapis at
papel.

Politics, B3

Religious from involvement in

partisan politics because they are
considered the symbols of unity
in the Church community. For
them to take an active part in
partisan politics, with its wheeling and dealing, compromises,
confrontational and adversarial
positions, would be to weaken
their teaching authority and
destroy the unity they represent
and protect. Still, it must be
admitted that sometimes even
the teaching of moral principles
is actually interpreted by some
as partisan politics, because of
actual circumstances (PCP-II,
343-344). An example was the
Bishops post-election statement
in 1986 when they taught that
a government that has assumed
power by fraud had no moral
right to govern. This teaching was
considered partisan for the opposition presidential candidate and
against the winner proclaimed by
a subservient parliament.

23. What is the specific mission

of the laity in politics?
The mission of the laity is the
same as that of the entire Church,
which is to renew the political
order according to Gospel principles and values. But such renewal
by the laity is through active and

partisan political involvement,

a role generally not allowed to
priests and religious men and
women. This is the reason that
PCP-II urges the lay faithful not
to be passive regarding political
involvement but to take a leading
role. In fact, PCP-II states: In
the Philippines today, given the
general perception that politics
has become an obstacle to integral development, the urgent
necessity is for the lay faithful to
participate more actively, with
singular competence and integrity, in political affairs (PCP-II,
348). Moreover, the laity must
help form the civic conscience of
the voting population and work
to explicitly promote the election
of leaders of true integrity to public office (PCP-II, Art. 8, #1).
24. What truths should guide
the laitys political involvement?
PCP-II underlined the following principles to guide political
participation of Catholics:
That the basic standard for
participation be the pursuit of
the common good;
That participation be characterized by a defence and promotion of justice;
That participation be inspired

and guided by the spirit of

service;
That it be imbued with a love
of preference for the poor; and
That empowering people be
carried out both as a process
and as a goal of political activity.
(PCP-II, 351).
But more than just political involvement is the primary
importance of the lay faithful
being witnesses to the Gospel.
John Paul II said: The lay faithful must bear witness to those
human and Gospel values that
are intimately connected with
political activity itself, such as
liberty and justice, solidarity,
faithful and unselfish dedication
for the good of all, a simple lifestyle, and a preferential love for
the poor and the least (CL, 42).

25. Are there so called Catholic candidates or is there a

Catholic vote?
The Gospel does not prescribe
only one way of being political
or only one way of political
governing (such as monarchical,
presidential, parliamentary, etc.),
much less only one political party or even one slate of candidates.
No one political option can fully
carry out the Gospel mandate of
renewing the political order or of

serving the common good. No

one political party or platform
or set of candidates can exclusively claim the name Catholic.
Hence to Catholics there are
many political options that the
Gospel does not prohibit. Therefore, there is generally no such
thing as a Catholic vote or
the Bishops candidates. This
is simply a myth. The Bishops
do not endorse any particular
candidate or party but leave to
the laity to vote according to
their enlightened and formed
consciences in accordance with
the Gospel.
26. Is there any case when the
Bishops can authoritatively
order the lay faithful to vote
for one particular and concrete
option?
Yes, there is, and the case
would certainly be extraordinary.
This happens when a political
option is clearly the only one
demanded by the Gospel. An
example is when a presidential
candidate is clearly bent to
destroy the Church and its mission of salvation and has all the
resources to win, while hiding
his malevolent intentions behind
political promises. In this case
the Church may authoritatively

demand the faithful, even under

pain of sin, to vote against this
particular candidate. But such
situations are understandably
very rare.
27. How does the Church fulfill its mission on renewing or
evangelizing politics?
by catechesis or Christian
education in politics in
order to evangelize our
political culture which is
characterized by a separation between faith and
politics;
by issuing guidelines on
properly choosing political officials, so that the
people may have a properly formed conscience
in their electoral choices;
by helping keep elections
honest, clean, peaceful,
and orderly through various church organizations,
cooperating with nongovernment organizations;
by pushing for structural changes as a goal
of pastoral action in the
political field, such as
urging for reforms in
the electoral processes in
order to avoid delays and

ensure integrity throughout the entire electoral

process from voting, to
counting, to reporting,
and finally to proclaiming
the winners;
by political advocacy such
as lobbying for legislation
that promote the common good and against
bills that promote the
vested interests of the few;
by getting involved in a
movement of civil society (civic organizations,
peoples organizations,
non-government organizations, associations of
lay people and religious,
school associations, etc.)
to change politics for the
better;
by organizing her own
network of parishes and
organizations, pastoral
and social centers, etc.,
such as NASSA VOTECARE and PPC-RV, to
help keep elections clean,
honest, peaceful and orderly.

( S o u r c e : h t t p : / / w w w.
cbcponline.net/v3/
documents/1990s/1998church_politics.html)

B8 ENTERTAINMENT

May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

Moral Assessment

CBCP Monitor

Buhay San Miguel

Brothers Matias

Lolo Kiko

Bladimer Usi

Abhorrent

Disturbing
Acceptable
Wholesome

Exemplary
Technical Assessment

Poor
Below average

Average

Above average
E
xcellent

IN 1991, Hydra controls Buck/

Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan)
into hijacking a car a scientist
car and stealing a serum to create more superhuman soldiers.
In the present day, the Avengers
successfully thwarts an attempt
to steal a biohazard weapon in
Nigeria but Wanda (Elizabeth
Olsen) inadvertently causes a
hospital to explode, killing hundreds of innocent people. The
worlds distrust of the Avengers
sense of accountability grows,
forcing the United Nations to
step in to approximate control
and liability through the Sekovia
Accords. The Act divides the
Avengers, with Stark (Robert
Downey, Jr), Romanoff (Scarlett Johanssen), Rhodes (Don
Cheadle), Vision (Paul Bettany)
and lately Parker/Spiderman
(Tom Holland) for signing the
Act while Rogers (Chris Evans),
Wilson (Anthony Mackie), Burton (Irons), Wanda, (Elizabeth
Olsen), Lang (Paul Rudd) are
against it. While tension between Stark and Rogers escalates,
their conflict widens when the
government orders the arrest of
Bucky/Winter Soldier for bombing the UN Ratification meeting
in Vienna, killing the Wakandan
King which sends his son, Black
Panther, to hunt Bucky and
avenge his fathers death. In a
twist of events, the Avengers are
manipulated into destruction
by Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) who
realizes destruction of a powerful
force happens when you break
them from within, destroying
their trust and friendship for
each other.
Captain America: Civil War
has a slow start and seems like
forever to build up amidst all
the characters and sub-plots.
But when it does, the audience
is taken into an addictive rollercoaster ride of emotional highs
and beautifully crafted action
sequences. The fight choreographies are stunning to watch
while camerawork captures
heart-pounding scenes clinically.
The script, although too verbose
at times, manages to give all 12
major characters their shining
moments without straying from
the storyline. The final twist in
the end gives the film a darker
yet more mature tone and credibility. Directors Anthony and

Joe delivered one of the better

Marvel franchises to date.
Guilt and revenge seem to be
the underlying motivations that
consumed the characters in the
film prompting them to decide
and act accordingly. For instance,
Stark feels guilty about his oversight and consistent role in the
destruction and death everytime
Ironman battles the enemy. Black
Panther and Col. Zemo willingly
spend all their time and energy
into avenging their familys death.
Wanda is conflicted because of

CAPTAIN
AMERICA: CIVIL
WAR
Direction: Anthony and Joe
Russo
Cast: Chris Evans, Robert
Downey, Jr.; Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan,
Don Cheadle, Jeremy
Renner, Elizabeth Olsen,
Paul Bettany, Tom Holland;
Story: based on characters by
Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
Genre: Sci Fi Action
Location: USA
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios; Running Time: 147
minutes
TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT:

MORAL ASSESSMENT:
CINEMA rating : V14
MTRCB rating: PG

Buhay Parokya

Look for the images of Holy Water, Holy

Candle and Holy Dove.
(Illustration by Bladimer Usi)

her guilt in the events in Sekovia

and Nigeria. While guilt serves
a reminder of how we may have
failed or chosen wrongly, we must
learn to heal, forgive ourselves
and start reparation not by beating ourselves to death but by
making sure our future choices reflect common good. On the other
hand, revenge leads us to more
destruction and further deepens
the wounds of loss and failure.
Forgiveness and acceptance are
the key to healing and moving
on. Our future are a result of
our past but not intertwined in
them. Perhaps war begins when
guilt or revenge is harbored too
long, allowing it to consume our
better judgments. Perhaps peace
begins when we learn to let go
and move forward without regret
or angerbut with compassion,
understanding and commitment
to the common good.

A PREQUEL to Snow White and the Hunstman, the story happens

many years before the Snow Whites story. The evil queen Ravenna
(Charlize Theron) has a sister, Freya (Emily Blunt), whose magical
cryokinenetic powersthe power to use cold and ice in physical
combatawaken following the mysterious death of her only child.
She leaves her sisters kingdom and establishes her own empire in the
icy North. She abducts children
from villages, and raises them to
be her soldiershunstmen. Two
of these children are Eric and
Sara (Chris Hemsworth and Jessica Chastain), who grow to become her finest huntsmen. And
in spite of Queen Freyas rules DIRECTOR: Cedric NicolasTroyan
against love, the two fall in love. STARRING:Chris
Hemsworth,
Queen Freya uses her magic to
Jessica Chastain, Charlize
separate them, and Eric, believTheron, Emily Blunt, Colin
Morgan, Nick Frost, Sam
ing that Sara is murdered, spends
Claflin, Rob Brydon
the next seven years mourning
BASED
ON:Characters by
her death. Things take a different
Evan Daugherty
turn, when the Ice Queen Freya GENRE:Fantasy, Adventure,
hunts for the magic mirror which
Action, Drama
used to belong to Queen Ravena, PRODUCTION COMPANIES:
Perfect World Pictures,
now believed to be dead.
Roth Films
The Hunstman: Winters War
DISTRIBUTORS: Universal
takes a different turn on the
Pictures
original popular fairy tale, Snow COUNTRIES: United Kingdom,
White. Here, the audience will
United States
only hear the name of the famous LANGUAGE: English RUNNING TIME: 114minutes
princess who will not really apTECHNICAL ASSESSMENT:
pear in the picture. The result is

pretty interesting, although one

MORAL
ASSESSMENT:
can sense that the film is having
quite a difficulty in terms of focus
and real identity. Although the two huntsmen are in the center
of a love story, the sister/rival queens seem to be more interesting
characters. The acting is fine. Hemsworth and Chastain are able to
deliver although as lovers in the story, there should perhaps be more
justification to endear them to the audience. Blunt is terrific and
Theron is as fierce as ever although she lacks the needed exposure
to establish more tension in the story. Elaborate production design
and visual effects are effective, making The Huntsman: Winters
War in its totality a feel-good and an enjoyable watch only despite
its weaknesses.

THE
HUNSTSMAN:
WINTERS WAR

The film is very clear on its theme as it is verbalized quite a few

times love conquers all. It refers mainly to the romance built
between Eric and Sara amid the strong rule of the ice queen not to
love. Although the love the queen is referring to is love in general
so it also applies to kinds of love other than the romantic one. The
Huntsman: Winters War is able to deliver the message loud and
clear. Freyas traumatic experience brought out the worst in her
and her outrage and anger turned her into a cold being literally
and figuratively. Her heart turned not just cold but as hard as ice.
The film clearly defines hatred, greed and vanity as evil. Ravena
symbolizes the evil of all evils. Freyas circumstance made her evil

for a time but then, goodness in her heart still triumphed in the
end as it is her real nature. It may have been hard at first to accept
her sudden change of heart just because of one traumatic experiencebut then, that could be very human of her to feel hate and
anger. Her remorse towards the end is a redeeming factor. The
bond between Eric and Sara could have been stronger had there
been more tension and emotions at stake. But shallow or not, love
is love, is able to conquer the evil of evils, and it is maybe enough
that the message love conquers all comes across loud and clear.
The violence in the movie, although in context, must be explained
to the very young audience.

Ugnayan

THE NEWS SUPPLEMENT OF COUPLES FOR CHRIST

CBCP Monitor. Vol. 20 No. 15

May 2 - 15, 2016 C1

CFC inks deal with ABS-CBN

for new TV show
Couples for Christ has
marked a new milestone in
its history. The community
now has a TV show!

CFC Chairman Joe Tale, CFC

President George Campos and CFC
Director for Communications Michael Ariola set the ball rolling for this
significant event when they signed the
contract covering the airing of the TV
show with executives of ABS-CBN last
April 26 at the ELJ Building, ABSCBN Complex in Quezon City. The
ABS-CBN executives were Ms. Cory
Vidanes, ABS-CBN Chief Operating
Officer of Broadcast, Ralph Menorca
(ABS-CBN Head of Programming
Content and On-Air Management),
and Catherine Lopez (ABS-CBN
Head of Finance for Broadcast and
Intergrated News).
In the initial season, CFC TV will
be airing 13 episodes of Pluma, which
will feature inspiring and extraordinary
stories of ordinary people who are
members of Couples for Christ and its
ministries (Singles for Christ, Youth
for Christ, Kids for Christ, Servants of
the Lord and Handmaids of the Lord).
More than merely touching the
hearts of televiewers, Pluma will tell of
Gods extravagant love and grace in the
lives of ordinary people, strengthening
their hope in life and faith in God.
The series aims to proclaim the sanctity
of the family, the beauty of Christian
values, the essence of unwavering faith
and the joy and humor in each person's
personal journey.
Pluma will be aired on Channel
2 starting May 22, 2016, and every
Sunday after that, at 5:30 in the
morning. (Alma Alvarez)

One Africa21 years

of Gods faithfulness
Leaders of the six regions
of CFC Africa gathered at the
Elementaita Country Lodge in
Nakuru, Kenya recently for the
One Africa Conference.
CFC Chairman Joe Tale, IC
member and African Continent
Overseer Michael Ariola and
Evangelization and Missions Office Coordinator Nic Escalona
travelled to Kenya to lead the
conference. They were joined by
East Africa Region Coordinator
Jun Clarito and his wife Malou,
and Lay Laya, Regional Coordinator for the Indian Ocean Islands.

Abraham Munene, CFC Kenya

Country Head, welcomed the
delegates, while Jun Clarito gave
the overview of the conferencecum-strategic planning.
Tale delivered a talk about the
CFC Global Status and Directions
for the year.
In his exhortation, Ariola expressed gratitude for the 21 years of
CFC Africa and termed those 21
years as evidence of God's faithfulness to the region. Bishop Maurice
Muhatia of the Diocese of Nakuru
celebrated the Holy Eucharist.
(Caloy Rubio)

Top photo: Ms. Cory Vidanes and Joe Tale exchange ceremonial pens. Left photo: Network executives pose with Joe Tale,
George Campos and Shok Ariola. Right photo: The three IC members signing the contract.

At the Heart of the Celebration

As the saying goes, each time a
soul gets converted, the angels in
heaven celebrate. Luke 15:7 attests
to this. And daily, God calls each
one of His children to conversion.
It may not be as dramatic as Sauls
conversion, but day by day, a little
bit at a time, God calls each person
to surrender his or her life more
and more deeply.
This was how Deanna Grio
presented Session 1, in the form of
a worship concert, where she told
of Sauls transformation, mission
and imprisonment, and how he
exhibited joy, prayer and gratitude
in his ministry.
When Saul became Paul after
his change of heart, he immediately set out on mission, going to
different places proclaiming the
Word of God. Among those whom
he led to conversion were women,
influential women who used their
resources in helping the mission
and converting their households.
In the same way, the Handmaids
of the Lord, following the lead of
the CFC, have embraced as their
mission sharing the Gospel to other
women.

The HOLD ICON, known for its festive presentations, powerful talks and inspiring
testimonies,

The BeatitudesA Stairway to

Heaven
According to Pope Emeritus
Benedict XVI, the beatitudes are
also a roadmap for the Church
they are directions for discipleship, directions that concern every
individual
This echoes what St. Gregory of
Nyssa said: the Beatitudes build
one upon the other, like a stairway
that each person needs to climb in
order to reach heaven.
Flor Victoriano, HOLD Coordinator in Mindanao, discussed the
beatitudes in her talk during the
conference. These are:
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Admitting that one cannot

make it on his own efforts is
the first step on the path to
heaven. Being poor in spirit
means everything one has
can only come from God.
Humility and being childlike brings openness and a
sense of inner peace, knowing fully well that one can
trust God who is all powerful
and loving.
Blessed are they who mourn:
for they will be comforted.
The more one is humble and
becomes aware of Gods presence in ones life, the more
he or she becomes aware
of ones imperfections. This
sorrow allows one to come
to repentance. Through the
sacrament of reconciliation,
one gains strength to resist
sin despite the external pressures.
Blessed are the meek: for
they shall inherit the earth.
Meekness does not mean
weakness. It is strength under
control. Despite His power,
he surrendered fully to the
Fathers will, becoming the
servant of all. After His sacrifice, death and resurrection,
Jesus affirmed Gods promise
of inheriting the Kingdom
prepared for each person by
the Father.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice:
for they shall have their fill.
This beatitude focuses on
Gods call for all to be holy,
to be intimate with God as
each has been called to do as
His children.
The first four beatitudes
represent a souls journey of
searching for a right relationship with God. The last four,

CFC Build My Church completes more churches

The CFC-BMC (Build My
Church) Core Group announced
recently that since its launching,
the program has accomplished the
construction of two new chapels:
the Our lady of Fatima chapel in
Batasan Hills, Quezon City and
the Sacred Heart of Jesus Chapel
in Padre Garcia, Batangas.
Major renovations have also been
done on the San Jose chapel in Luisiana, Laguna and the Santa Rita Chapel in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila.
Meanwhile, on-going renovations
are being done on the Ina ng Laging Saklolo chapel, in Payatas Trece,
Q.C.; the San Agustin Chapel in
BMC, C2

HOLD ICON, C2

One Africa, from top: Bishop Maurice Mohatia with the CFC leaders; CFC Africa leaders
fellowship; Bp. Muhatia blessing the leaders; Joe Tale & Jun Clarito; leaders strategic
planning; Lay Laya leading the opening worship.

A Letter From The CFC

International Council
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
Peace and Joy be with you!
Elections in a democracy, as Cardinal Chito Tagle stated in his homily
delivered on May 2, 2016, are an opportunity for a great blessing. They are
participation to a gift, and the act of
voting is something that is rooted not
just on our love for country but also our
love for God.
As the 2016 National Elections
draw near, let us rejoice in this blessing
that we shall exercise our capacity to
participate intellectually, rationally, and
with conscience. More importantly,
we come together in unity and prayer
to seek wisdom from the Holy Spirit in
choosing the next leaders of our nation.
We turn for guidance to the CBCP
Statement dated May 1, 2016, entitled
PROPHETS OF TRUTH, SERVANTS OF UNITY-- Pastoral Appeal
in the Spirit of Our for Love of God and
Country. We ask everyone, especially
CFC leaders, to read this pastoral guidance in full. Let us heed the call of our
Church, to cast our votes as an act not
only of citizenship but also as a public
declaration of faith.
Let us deeply examine our hearts
and remember that [a] choice for a
candidate who takes positions that
are not only politically precarious but

worse, morally reprehensible, cannot

and should not be made by the Catholic faithful and those who take their
allegiance to Christ and his Kingship
seriously.
Let us be mindful that one cannot
proclaim Christ as King and at the
same time accept the governance of one
whose thoughts, speech and demeanor
are diametrically opposed to the demands of submission to the Lordship
of Jesus Christ.
Let us also ponder on our bishops exhortation that change cannot take the
form of supporting a candidate whose
speech and actions, whose plans and
projects show scant regard for the rights
of all, who has openly declared indifference if not dislike and disregard for the
Church specially her moral teachings.
Finally, we echo the CBCPs encouragement for CFC members, in the Philippines and abroad, to pray the Rosary
and receive Holy Communion every
day from May 1-9 for the intentions of
a godly electoral process.
May the Lord grant us the grace to
be instruments of peace, reconciliation
and healing.

JOSE T. TALE
Chairman

C2

May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

Whats a Fiesta all about?

CBCP Monitor

HOLD ICON, C1

in turn, represent a continuing journey

of a transformed soul that is slowly bearing fruit and having a deeper relationship
with God.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall
be shown mercy.
Jesus taught his followers to understand
true mercy, through the Lords Prayer,
the parable of the Good Samaritan and
Jesus conversation with the thief while
on the cross. Forgiveness is cooperating
with Gods grace. As mercy is shown,
the healing grace of God flows in and
through a person.
Blessed are the pure of heart: they
will see God.
Purity of heart means shedding much
of the things that keep it away from the
Lord. The promise of seeing God does
not only pertain to the eternal perspective but being embraced by Gods love
while here on earth.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they
shall be called children of God.
Peace is more than the absence of war.
It is a condition of completeness, not
lacking, no anxiety or fear.
Blessed are they who are persecuted
because of righteousness, theirs is the
kingdom of God.
Dying to ones self, ones ambitions,
desires and sins out of love for God and
others promises the eternal life in the
Fathers kingdom.
God did not give the beatitudes to
burden man but to give him a foretaste

of Gods image. Climbing up the stairway

must not be a dreadful experience, rather it
should push each one to immerse himself
in prayer, seek Gods guidance and graces,
embrace our weaknesses as God does, and
develop a humble desire to serve. Surely,
the Lord will bless ones heart with joy.

It is also a sign of ones calling, which if

one accepts, can be a symbol of anointing
and empowerment. Galsim challenged
everyoneAre you prepared to accept
Gods offer and pledge to pursue a life of
deep intimacy with Him?
Celebrating the intimacy

Having been touched like Paul by Gods

transforming love, and going through the
process of becoming more intimate with
the Lord, the Handmaids, according to
Edythe Avendao, HOLD International
Coordinator, are being transformed into
women of prayer, women of gratitude and
women of joy.
Despite obstacles to praying, like lack
of time, cares of the world, distractions,
sin, spiritual dryness, and spiritual sloth or
acedia, prayer should be a non-negotiable
part of ones life.
The HOLD are also exhorted by St.
Paul to give thanks in all circumstances,
cultivating an attitude of gratitude.
He likewise encourages all to rejoice in
the Lord always. How? By having the right
attitude, being in the right relationship
with God, walking by His Spirit, seeing
things from Gods perspective, and serving
the Lord. Why? Because the joy of the
Lord is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10).
Hence, ones interior transformation
must also find expression outwardly in
serving God and others. Many saints are
great models of this expression. It is fitting
to grow in intimacy with God, experience
joy that is found only in Him and maintain
an attitude of gratitude. (Alma Alvarez)

Growing in Intimacy with God

As discussed by Didi Galsim, HOLD

Coordinator for Europe, Pope Benedict
XVI said in his homily that Jesus is the
true picture of the beatitudes. Therefore,
the Handmaids must mirror Him, and
aspire to faithfully live out the beatitudes.
The beatitudes, coupled with prayer, Gods
Word, the sacraments and the presence of
other people, can manifest that the Lord
is truly near.
Christ thirsts for His people. It is not a
physical thirst, but a longing for love and
intimacy with Him. How then, should
Gods children respond to this yearning?
By praying, participating in His work, in
His suffering, and in faith.

Committing in intimacy

Journeying towards an intimacy with

God gives a beautiful experience of being
covered by Him. The HOLD mantle,
which was given to all the delegates,
represents this covering, like a cloak or
shawl worn by people of the Old Testament. It is a token of Gods intimate presence, something that covers a person and
serves as protection from the elements, a
symbol of being enveloped in Gods love
and protection.

At the heart of the celebration, from top: marching band from the University of San Carlos;
Pandangguhan number opening the Fiesta night; Sinulog queen praising through dance; Marian
procession with CFC & HOLD leaders.

Summer time is usually fiesta time in

the Philippines. Almost every day, the
feast day of a saint is celebrated in towns
and provinces. Food, music, dancing
and merry-making usually accompany
a fiesta. However, it is interesting to
note that most of the famous festivals
in the Philippines have religious backgrounds, and are actually rooted in the
Christian faith of Filipinos.
Amidst all the rejoicing, there is always the element of prayer in a fiesta.
The abundance of food is an offering
of gratitude for bountiful blessings received, whether in the form of harvest,
or the coming of a child in the family,
or being spared from calamity.
The Handmaids of the Lord incorporated CFCs theme for 2016Rejoice.
Pray. Give Thanks.in the HOLD
International Conference (ICON) held
over the weekend of April 29 to May 1.
The conference was a fiesta celebration
and the theme of rejoicing, thanksgiving and prayer was palpable throughout
the entire event. The inspiration for the
weekend were the many popular festivals
celebrated throughout the Philippines,
particularly those that incorporate the
expression of worship and gratitude to
the Almighty.
Rejoice.
In whom must one rejoice? The Lord!
The popular festival that expresses this
rejoicing is none other than the Sinulog
of Cebu.
The Sinulog is a dance ritual to honor
the miraculous image of the Sto. Nio.
Early Christian conquerors transformed
a native dance into a worship dance that
now honors properly the one true God,
Jesus, the Sto. Nio!
The dance moves to the sound of
drums that resembles the current of
a river, which is called sinulog in
Cebuano.
The chant Pit Senyor, is part of the
dancing. It is a shortcut for Sangpit
sa Seor, which is a prayer to God. It
means calling, asking and pleading to
the King.
Another dance of rejoicing is the Subli
which is not just a folk dance but an
expression of worship because it originated as a worship dance. This dance is
performed during the feast of the Holy
Cross in Batangas.
Pray.
A fiesta, or a feast, is not just about
rejoicing. More importantly, it is about
praying. This is why the culmination
of every fiesta is the procession of the
image of the saint whose feast day is
being celebrated. The procession is an
expression of the peoples devotion to
that particular saint.
In Fort Pilar in Zamboanga, the faithful pray to the Blessed Mother not inside
a church, but in front of a stone wall
where the image of the Nuestra Seora
Del Pilar is enshrined. During this feast,
people dance in front of the wall shrine
to show their devotion and gratitude
to the Blessed Mother for protecting
the fort from attacks of non-Christian

invaders during the early Spanish period.

Honoring the Lord and Mother Mary
happens in the waters, too. After all, the
mountains are the Lords, and so are
the rivers and the seas. And so in the
feast of the Santo Rosario in Cavite, the
people give praise and honor to God
and the Blessed Mother through a fluvial
procession.
Give Thanks.
Christians are a very grateful people.
The faithful thank God, Mother Mary,
and the saints for their intercession and
protection. The festival of the Pahiyas of
Lucban, Quezon exemplifies this thanksgiving. During the festival, people show
gratitude for abundant and good harvest
by decorating houses with the fruits (and
vegetables) of their labor. The image of
San Isidro Labrador is honored during
the fiesta procession, not only through
the usual procession but through a very
unique practice. During the procession,
carabaos that form part of the procession kneel before the church door as
they pass by.
In Pateros, where the world famous
balut (fertilized duck embryo) is produced, the annual fiesta is in honor
of St. Martha. It is believed that Santa
Marta saved the balut industry when
the saint protected the ducks of Pateros
from preying crocodiles in the rivers
of Pateros. In thanksgiving, the people
dance at the procession of Santa Marta
during her feast day.
Dancing is integral to fiestas because
they are a very strong expression of faith.
With this as inspiration, the members of
the HOLD International Core showed
the delegates the meaning of the dance
behind the celebration of the Obando,
Bulacan Fiesta of Santa Clara.
Many are very familiar with this tune:

The many faces of joy, prayer and gratitude abound at the HOLD International Conference.

Sta. Clara, pinong-pino

Ako po ay bigyan nyo
Ng kasama sa buhay ko,
At katulong ng puso ko!
Loosely translated, the verse means:
Sta. Clara, so fine. Give me a life companion and my hearts help.
Many think that the song is just a folk
tune. But no! The song is a real prayer
offered by men and women alike, by the
young and the old, those who fervently
ask in prayer and those whose prayers
have been answered. Aside from Sta.
Clara, the patron saint of the childless
who want to have baby girls, the dance
also honors San Pascual de Baylon (St.
Paschal), the patron saint of devout
worshipers looking to marry and have
baby boys, and the Nuestra Seora de
Salambao (Our Lady of Salambao), protector of people who work in fishing, the
main source of livelihood in Obando.
The HOLD conference, through the
sessions, the dances, the camaraderie and
the joy that pervaded the venue, ably
exhibited the three major elements in
celebrating the fiestarejoicing, praying
and giving thanks, elements which are
precisely the focus of the communitys
theme for 2016. (A. Alvarez)

2016 SCHEDULE

MAY

28

LIVELOUD

JUN

15

WEDNESDAY

16

THURSDAY

17

JUN

8:00AM - 5:00PM

CFC SONGWRITING CONTEST

7:00AM - 10:00PM

CATHOLIC PRAISE CONCERT

PASTORAL FORMATION
11-12 INTERNATIONAL
SAT- SUN CONFERENCE

PM & MM LEADERS CONGRESS

FRIDAY

CLERGY AND LAY CONGRESS

8:00AM - 5:00PM

FAMILY MINISTRIES CONGRESS

8:00AM - 5:00PM

CFC THANKSGIVING NIGHT AND

EMERALD BALL
7:00AM - 10:00PM

8:00AM - 5:00PM

13

MONDAY

14

TUESDAY

CFC FUN GOLF

TBA

18

CFC 35th ANNIVERSARY

CELEBRATION
QUIRINO GRANDSTAND
10:00AM - 8:00PM

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
CONGRESS

SATURDAY

INTERNATIONAL MISSION
CORE GATHERING

21-25 CFC MISSIONARY RETREAT

1:00PM - 5:00PM

7:00PM - 10:00PM

TUESDAY
TBA
TO SATURDAY

CBCP Monitor

C3

May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

CFC MM - Caring for Our

Common Home

Young Pageant Winner Has A

Heart For Poor Children

Adults do not have a monopoly in having hearts that care for the poor.
Mariana Lynn C. Togado, only eight
years old, proved that children do care for
the poor when she donated her winnings
in a pageant to ANCOP USA. Mariana,
a multi-talented girl from Tampa, Florida,
has won in various state and national pageants for young girls. She was 2nd runner
up in the National American Miss held in
Anaheim California in November 2015 and
a finalist in the National American Miss
Florida. She continues to join pageants
locally and nationally, enhancing her Godgiven talents and skills in academics, culture
and the arts.
Through her winnings, Mariana has
sponsored a poor child in the Philippines
through the ANCOP USA Child Sponsorship Program. Young as she is,Marianahas
chosen to use her cash prizes in the pageants
to send a poor child to school in the Philippines. She serves as a model for young
people and adults alike that compassion and

a heart for the poor knows no age. Even a

young child like Mariana can make a difference and change the life of a poor child,
who otherwise would have no education.
Mariana has been commended by
CFC-ANCOP Tampa Bay for her active
involvement in ANCOP USA activities in
raising awareness and generating funds for
the poor children. Whether it is an ANCOP
Kick-off, ANCOP dinner appreciation for
sponsors or the ANCOP Global Walk,
Mariana is always ready to help.
Rich and Tina Jensen, ANCOP Tampa
Bay Coordinators, addressed Mariana with
these words: We don't know of any child
sponsor as young as you are. We want to
let you know that your child sponsorship
will truly make a difference in the life of the
child you sponsored. Instead of that child
being out in the streets with no hope, this
child will now have a bright future. We
as adultsare humbled by your generosity
and compassion for the poor children.
(Tina Jensen)

Migrants Song Fest Finalists Announced

The CFC Migrants Program announces

the Top Ten Song Finalist for the 2nd Migrants Program Songwriting Contest. The
final list is as follows:
1. Buhay OFW - Ralph Maligro
(UAE)
2. Dasal - Ralph Maligro (UAE)
3. Ikaw ay Bayani - Carlos Perez
(Canada)
4. Kandungan - Cris Parman (Laguna)
5. Magkasama sa Mahabang Panahon - Dante Tierra (Cruise Ship/
South A)

6. Modern Heroes of the New Millenium - Emi Arevalo (Canada)

7. Sa Iyong Pagbabalik - Noel A.
Noma / Aurus John C. Noma
(Laguna)
8. Salamat sa Inyo - Danny Lopez
(MM West B)
9. Together - Patrick Coronel & Michael Mercado (U.S.A.)
10. Higit Pa - Tin Catahan (MM
South B)
All the entries were evaluated by the
committee headed by Tito Cayamanda of
the CFC Music Ministry Core.

The 2nd encyclical of Pope

Francis, Laudato Si, introduced
the faithful to a kind of worship that should be renewed in
everyone - caring for the environment. In the encyclical, the
Pope emphasized that Mother
Earth, the common home of
all creation, is suffering from
the neglect and greed of man.
Thus, the Pope enjoins the
faithful to act swiftly in order
to save, renew and restore the
earths resources for the benefit
of future generations.
In answer to this call, the
CFC OIKOS Society of Metro
Manila initiated the Laudato Si
Seminar Workshops to further
reflect on the message and the
challenge of the Pope. The first
in the series of this seminar was
held last April 16, 2016 at the
DENR Social Hall, Visayas
Avenue, Quezon City. Thirtyeight (38) CFC leaders and

coordinators around Metro

Manila came to the seminar.
Eric de los Reyes from the
OIKOS team gave a session
about Stewardship of Gods
Creation, after which five
workshops on Laudato Si were
conducted. The seminar ended
with an action plan that is expected to be implemented as

soon as possible.
The Laudato Si Seminar will
be replicated on Saturday, May
21 in Northern and Southern
Luzon. In Northern Luzon,
the venue of the seminar will
be in Greenfields Paradise Resort, Barangay Bacundao East,
Malasiqui, Pangasinan while in
Southern Luzon, the seminar

will be held at the City Hall of

Calamba, Laguna. The seminar
will also be brought to the
Visayas and Mindanao regions.
The CFC OIKOS Society,
focused on taking care of the
environment, is one of the
Social Development Programs of Couples for Christ.
(Yvonne Dolorosa)

ANCOP Canada, C4

New hope for Yolanda survivors, clockwise from top left: new homes on ANCOP Canada 1st Street; CFC leaders and workers with Abp. John Du; Ricky Cuneca
with home partners; Abp. Du blessing the houses; the first 10 home partners receive key and certificate.

The workers encountered

many difficulties at the site, but
the help of everybody in order to
facilitate the completion of the
Pope Francis Community made
things easy. The Archbishop added, I know the hardship of the
people who have been here since
Day 1. We pray for everyone,
especially the home partners, to
work together. In his final note,
Archbishop Du shared, As we
concretely experienced Gods
mercy and compassion, we have
truly known how blessed we
are. The love of God is indeed
stronger than any calamity we
experience. The archbishop
exhorted the home partners and
the community workers to not
let differences divide, but rather,
be always united in their dealings
with one another.
Jimmy Ilagan, President of
ANCOP Global Foundation
Inc., expressed his gratitude
to SM Cares and the RCAP
for giving ANCOP the opportunity to bring its brand
of community development to
the project.
We are humbled by the trust
reposed on us to help the people
not just build their homes but

build a community through the

promotion of good values and
the witness of volunteerism and
cooperation, Ilagan added.
Ilagan likewise thanked SM
Foundation and SM Cares for appointing CFC ANCOP to handle
the soft programs that will be
implemented in the community.
Ilagan articulated CFC ANCOPs commitment to deploy
its army of Christ-centered
servants (in the Couples for
Christ) to promote values
formation, programs for the
youth, the kids and their parents, as well as provide programs for livelihood and other
capacity-building programs.
This partnership gives a signal to the world that great things
can be done by ordinary people
as long as everyone has a singular
focusthe genuine desire to
bring new hope to those who
thought all hope was lost; new
life to those who thought their
lives ended on November 8,
2013; and a renewed faith to
those who felt God has abandoned them, Ilagan said.
ANCOP Canada Head Ricky
Cuenca gave the response from
the donors side. He revealed:

Before Yolanda happened, we

didnt even know each other.
We went our own individual
businesses. But after typhoon
Yolanda changed the lives
of our brethren in Tacloban,
somehow, we all ceased this
to-each-his-own attitude and
everyone jumped in to help.
Cuenca added, I believe
that in our own little way,
we have become extensions
of Gods love to our brethren
here in Tacloban. The houses
we see here are not just shelters
but symbols of love and hope
for our brethren. We just have
one request: please take care of
this community. These homes
are manifestations of love from
all our donors. We may not
be able to thank them all individually, but please promise
to pray for each and every one
of them.
Promoting sports as a way
of life for the residents of the
Pope Francis Community, the
owners of Global Port headed
by Mikee Romero donated a
basketball court and community center.
The Ambassador of Canada to the Philippines, Neil

Reeder, likewise shared how

he and his wife Irene had
flown to Tacloban a day
after the typhoon struck,
bringing with them food
and financial assistance from
the Canadian government.
Now we come back and
see all the good work thats
been done, Amb. Reeder added. Many of us in
Canada have family ties in
the Philippines, and so the
Canadian government has
truly contributed to helping
your people. Youve gone
through a very difficult situation, and I want us all to
celebrate today your ability
to bounce back.
The turnover of the 400
homes, 100 of which came
from ANCOP Canada, was
truly a cause for rejoicing.
Beyond the ceremonial ribbon cutting, the blessing
of the houses and sports
facilities, and unveiling
of the marker of the Pope
Francis Community, it is the
renewed hope in the hearts
of the home partners that
was most celebrated. (CFC
Global Comm)

BMC, C1

YFC ICON, C4

importance of prayer as a part and

a foundation of a young persons
life as a follower of Christ. Er Er
Abringe YFC missionary to the
Middle East, emphasized how
prayer strengthens ones relationship
with God and how in return people
experience Gods unlimited love.
Bunny Enriquez of YFC Metro
Manila, Andrelene Veloso of YFC
Negros Occidental and RJane Beltran, also from YFC Metro Manila
shared how prayer became instrumental in transforming them and
allowing them to see Gods hand
working in every area of their lives.

The third day focused on appreciating the importance of being

grateful to the Lord for His unlimited blessings and His love that
overflows in all of us. In his homily
during the Mass, Most Reverend
Danilo Parcon, Bishop of the Diocese of Talibon, emphasized a wonderful lesson of obedience: Obey
God and not man. Obedience is
our best expression of our love to
God. A person who disobeys God
is inviting troubles in life.
Edyvmar Abuan, fulltime pastoral worker for YFC Laguna led
the morning worship to begin the

last session, Grateful, given by GJ

Ramores of YFC Metro Manila.
Ramores talked about remembering blessings and struggles,
and challenging everyone to be
thankful for everything and everyone that became instrumental
in each persons journey of following Christ.
The CFC YFC International
Conference is an annual event of
Youth for Christ and is attended
by thousands of young people from
all over the world. The 24th YFC
ICon in the summer of 2017 will
be held in Ilocos Norte.

Palo, Leyte; Our Lady of Fatima

chapel in Cainta, Rizal; the San
Miguel Arkanghel chapel in Barangay Batasan, QC; the Dado
Dangwa chapel in Tabuc, Kalinga
and the Saint Anthony de Padua
chapel in Virac, Catanduanes.
Other projects submitted by
Metro Manila North A, West C,
Central B, CFC Aurora, CFC
Nueva Vizcaya, CFC Bulacan,
CFC Sorsogon and CFC Bataan
are currently being processed.
CFC-BMC enjoins all other
Metro Manila Sectors and Provinces to organize their BMC
Teams, find their target pilot
chapels and coordinate with the
BMC Core group for assistance.
(Lito Abao)

REGISTRATION FORM

The News Supplement

of Couples for Christ

Walk Date:
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Walk Donation:
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Mailing Address__________________________________________________________
Date of Birth _________________________ Email Address _____________________
Sector/ Province _______________________ Contact Number ___________________

IC Oversight

Editor-in-Chief

Deomar P. Oliveria
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(for Couples for Christ members)

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(for non Couples for Christ members)

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Circulation Staff

The Ugnayan News Supplement is published by the Couples for Christ Global Mission Foundation, Inc., with editorial
offices at 156 20th Avenue, 1109 Cubao, Quezon City.
Editorial trunk line: (+63 2) 709-4868 local 23
Direct line : (+63 2) 709-4856
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WAIVER
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claims for losses and damages I may have against the Couples for Christ, its Event Committee, ANCOP, ANCOP Walk Event Volunteers, Event
Sponsors, city government hosting the event, government agencies, their representatives, and/or all persons involved in managing and supervising
the event, for any and all claims for losses and damages I may have against such parties for any and all injuries, illnesses including death, that may
result from my participation in this event. I represent and affirm that I have been cleared by a physician to participate in this event and that I am in
good physical condition and have sufficiently trained for this purpose. I also understand that any sponsor may use my name and/or pictures taken
during the event for publicity of the CFC, Global Walk and/or ANCOP without liability or obligation to me. By submitting this entry, I
acknowledge that I have read and understood the foregoing waiver and I hereby freely and voluntarily accept the same after having obtained the
advice of a professional of my choice.

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INSTRUCTIONS
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C4

May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

CBCP Monitor

First FamCon excites Kids for Christ and families

The Kids for Christ from the
different provinces of the Visayas
Region, together with their families,
gathered together in Dumaguete
City for the first-ever KFC Family
Conference held at the Open Hall
of St. Paul University, Dumaguete.
The first day started with the Kids
Praise led by Provincial ROCK Facilitator Cris Cordel Daron of Negros
Oriental. This was followed by the
Family Challenges, where the KFC
members, KFC coordinators and
the older Youth for Christ members
whose responsibility is to take care of
the kids, moved and sang their hearts
out in the Family Dance Showdown,
Family Can Duet, Pitch Perfect Family, and Family Acoustic Band.
Others joined the sports competitions, like the Family Basketball
shootout, the Obstacle Race, Badminton, and Table Tennis, while
others bested one another in the
Family Catholic Quiz Bee, Family
Amazing Race, Family Art Project,
Top Model: Family Edition, and
Family Saints.
As the conference was about and
for families, one of the highlights of
the FamCon was the testimony of
Neil Balite of Bohol, together with
his family. He exhorted the families
about how to honor one another,
emphasizing the value of showing love
to ones family by saying, I love you.
The first day ended with the closing Kids Praise led by JM Zamora,
KFC FTPW from Metro Manila,
followed by the Family Praise Parade. With colorful and dazzling
costumes, families rocked the dance
floor as they performed the festival

dances of their hometowns.

In the second session on Day 2,
the kids and their families learned
that Jesus greatest gift of Himself is
the Eucharist. Angel Letigio, KFC
FTPW from Cebu, reminded the
kids about the importance of receiving Jesus, the Vine who gives strength
through the Holy Eucharist. The
session was immediately followed by
the Holy Mass celebrated by Fr. Cyril
Juarague, who exhorted the kids to
always pray and rejoice and always be
thankful to the Lord for all the graces
He showers upon them.
After lunch, the 1st KFC Parenting Summit opened simultaneously
with the Kids Fun Booths. In the
Parenting Summit, Nino Guerrero
told the parents that the Lord uses
their children to proclaim His Good
News and to relay His message to
them. Michelle Alignay, a registered
psychologist, also talked about parenting as not just an ordinary mission, but a God-given one. She also
pointed out some disciplining errors
parents make and gave out notes and
pointers n effective correction.
And whats a Kids for Christ conference without the most anticipated
fire hose bath, which was a welcome
treat for the kids after enjoying the
outdoor booths?
In the evening, Manny and Anne
Licup of CFC Leyte, with their
daughter Agnes talked about family
prayer. The families prayed together
during this session and ended the day
with the Lords Day Celebration to
thank and praise God for His goodness and for giving each one a great
giftthe gift of family.

The session highlighted that prayer

is a way to Gods heart; that it is talking and listening to Jesus Christ.
Afterwards, Kuya Dondon Buntod,
KFC FTPW from Luzon, led the
Closing Kids Praise and reminded
the kids to make their parents proud
by the way they serve Jesus and the
way they love them.
After the evening session, all
R.O.C.K. ates and kuyas attended
the R.O.C.K. Forum, led by the
KFC International Coordinator,
Adrian Enaje. He reminded the
R.O.C.K. ates and kuyas that their
purpose in serving Kids for Christ
is to lead the kids to Christ. The
day ended with the R.O.C.K. Facilitators bonfire activity where they
shared their reflections within their
respective groups.
Bishop Julito Cortes from the Diocese of Dumaguete celebrated the
Sunday Mass. In his homily, Bishop
Cortes shared that kids should pray
for one thingto know, to love, and
to follow Jesus more closely.
Ian Talisic, KFC FTPW Visayas
Coordinator, led Session 4, which
was all about giving thanks to the
Lord as a family. He reminded the
delegates that the reason that they
dance and pray is to make God
happy. He also asked the families to
make a Family Dream Board where
they can place all their dreams and
visions for their families.
To end the session and the entire
conference, Talisic led all the delegates in a Closing Kids Praise and
assured them that they can achieve
their family dreams together with
Jesus. (KCom)

Kids and parents alike enjoyed the sessions, the workshops, the competitions and the Kids for Christ signature activity, the fire hose
bath at the first-ever Family Conference.

400 families receive new homes in Tacloban

CFC PPC brings CFC

to Moyomba
Mission volunteers from Couples for
Christ USA, together with local CFC
(Parejas Para Cristo) and Fr. Rober Martinez Guerrero opened four new areas in
the Prelature of Moyomba in Peru, under
Obispo Rafael Esudero. The four new
parishes are the Moyomba Cathedral and
the parishes at Jepelacio, Nueva Cajamarca
and Naranjillos. A total of 118 individuals
were welcomed into the CFC PPC family.
Aside from the CLPs, the group composed of Glen Santayana, Justo Estrada
and Esther Prexl, also presented CFC PPC
to the graduating class of the San Jose

Seminary. Prexl impressed upon the senior

class that they have an ally in the person
of the CFC PPC in helping strengthen
the families once they are ordained priests.
Prexl likewise stayed on to give pastoral
teachings to the Handmaids of the Lord
in Rioja.
Carlos Bello flew to Rioja, joining
Prexl to continue the CLP missions in the
last two townsNueva Cajamarca and
Naranjillos.
This month, the mission group is
planning to go to Colombia. (Glen Santayana)

SM Prime Holdings executives led ny Hans Sy, President & CEO (center), together with the local government of Tacloban headed by Mayor Alfred Romualdez
(3rd from left), Archbishop John Du (4th from left), ANCOP President Jimmy Ilagan (extreme right), ANCOP Canada Head Ricky Cuenca (4th from right) & Amb.
Neil Reeder (5th from right) cut the ribbon during the awarding of the 400 homes in Leyte.

Our presence today is a clear manifestation of shared love, a demonstration of

the resounding response to the call of Pope
Francis to experience Gods mercy by performing the spiritual and corporal works
of mercyto give shelter to the homeless,
food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty,
counsel to those in doubt or in despair,
and comfort to the afflicted. Renewed
hope is shared to the beneficiaries. May
the Holy Spirit hover over the community,
and peace and hope ever renewed in mercy.
Hope is there when everyone cares.
This was the central message of the invocation led by Father Filomeno O. Borgueta,
JCD, during the turnover of 400 homes at
the SM Cares CFC ANCOP Canada Pope
Francis Community in Tacloban, Leyte last
April 16, 2016.
Hans Sy, President & Chief Operating

Officer of SM Prime Holdings, together

with His Excellency Archbishop John Du
of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of
Palo (RCAP)v; Ambassador of Canada to
the Philippines Neil Reeder; Mayor Alfred Romualdez; Mrs. Yedda Romualdez,
representing Cong. Martin Romualdez;
ANCOP President Jimmy Ilagan; ANCOP Canada Head Ricky Cuenca; and
Julian Payne of the Canadian Chamber of
Commerce witnessed the awarding of the
houses to the families who were among the
survivors of typhoon Yolanda.
The community, situated in Bgy. New
Kawayan, overlooks the ocean and the
city. Dr. Violeta Perez donated the lot to
the Archdiocese even before Yolanda came.
In his welcome remarks, Mayor Romualdez expressed appreciation for the project
and assured the community of the support

of the local government in helping maintain

what he called the stakeholders investments in his citythat of empowering
the people.
The first 10 profiled home partners were
awarded with a certificate and the keys to
their houses.
Archbishop John Du could not hide his
joy over the completion of the project. He
said, I am very happy that this dream has
now been realized. We laid the foundation
at this site last December 2014, and I have
since wanted to see this dream come true.
We thank all our donors, especially the
donors of this land, the prelate added.
Our dream then was to establish housing
for the poor. But we do not have money to
build the project. But through all of you
who sponsored these homes, this is realized.
ANCOP Canada, C3

CFC missionaries from the United States finished the conduct of CLPs (left); top right: with seminarians;
CFC missionaries with Fr. Rober Martinez Guerrero.

Experiencing Christs Unlimited Love in the 23rd CFC YFC ICon

More than 6,500 Youth
for Christ leaders and members
gathered from April 29 to May 1,
2016 to celebrate Christs unlimited love at this years International
Conference (ICon). The hot summer weather in Tagbilaran, Bohol
did not stop them from enjoying
and experiencing fun, friendship,
freedom and faith in the weekend
conference.
The conference was formally
opened by worship led by Vince
Lecerio from Youth for Christ
Canada and opening remarks by the
International Coordinator for YFC,
Lawrence Quintero. What made
the thousands of YFCs in Bohol
more excited for the day were the
competitions held in different venues around Bohol and the Church
Integration Congress participated
in by priests from different areas
around the world.
The advocacy parade which
started from Plaza Rizal to the conferences main site at the Carlos P.
Garcia Complex served as an avenue
for the youth to express the advocacies they feel strongly about, including education (A+), work with the
poor (Rev UP), environment (G
project), and chastity (100% Free).
Everyone then gathered to celebrate the Holy Eucharist with
Bishop Leonardo Medroso of the
Diocese of Tagbilaran. In his homily, Bishop Medroso reminded YFC
about the personality of Jesus. Being the Son of God who is unlim-

The YFC ICON highlighted the ministry's advocacies, the parish encounter and the competitions.

ited in giving love, Jesus is a person

of compassion, full of mercy and
Someone who looks into the suffering of others but still continues to
serve them Bp. Medroso exhorted.
Ace Elevera, a full-time pastoral
worker, led the worship prior to
Session 1 followed by a performance

by the Loboc Youth Ambassadors.

Session 1, titled Shout for Joy, was
a fitting introduction to the Praise
God Its Friday show hosted by Kyle
Beley of YFC Canada. It was a session of remembering to rejoice in
God knowing that true joy can only
be found in Him. True joy, as Beley

shared, is God not leaving you and

not abandoning you. This statement
was reinforced by testimonies from
three young people.
RL Pingul, YFC from Qatar, recounted the pain of losing his parents
and a younger sister when fire consumed their house in Qatar. At that

time, I thought there were no reasons

to rejoice anymore but by Gods grace,
I gained life again through the CFC
community that took care of me,
Pingul shared.
Joice Regudo of Mindoro Occidental joyfully testified about rising up from a difficult challenge in

her lifethat of being deprived of

parental love. Her father had been
unfaithful, her mother had died due
to cancer. Despite these, Regudo
was able to free herself from hurt
through forgiveness and the power
of Gods love.
Finally, Martin Ballon of YFC
Albay talked about living a life of
sinful pleasures and how the love of
the Lord led him to true happiness.
Unlike the previous conferences
where the YFC spent the second day
in various workshops, this year, YFC
immersed in parish encounters,
highlighting the importance of the
relationship of the lay and clergy in
parishes. Youth for Christ members
visited 27 parishes in Bohol and
experienced personal encounters
with different ministries and organizations in these parishes. The
heartwarming experience focused
on meeting new friends, learning
new songs, discovering histories and
sharing Gods goodness to all. The
Parish Encounter activity was made
even more spirit-filled by random
acts of kindness initiated by the
Youth for Christ members and the
parishioners, including the Parish
Youth Ministries and the Parish
Pastoral Councils.
Evening segments of day 2 started
with worship led by Fredy Lou
Baybay, fulltime pastoral worker of
YFC Bukidnon. The session titled
No Matter What immediately followed. This session focused on the

YFC ICON, C3